Over the weekend MMO maker Trion Worlds found itself targeted by a DDoS attack by an unknown party, affecting all of its games - including ArcheAge, RIFT, Defiance, and Trove.

According to TenTon Hammer the attacks started on Sept. 13. Trion Worlds' Twitter account indicated in its last update - which was on Sept. 13, noted that its services were still under attack:

ZeniMax Online has laid off an undisclosed number of employees who were working on The Elder Scrolls Online, the company's MMO based loosely on the popular role-playing game series that includes such games as Oblivion and Skyrim.

While the layoffs were confirmed by Peter Hines, vice president of PR and marketing at Bethesda Softworks, the company did not disclose how many employees were let go, and whether those employees were full-time, part-time, or contractors.

Electronic Arts is shutting down Ultima Forever, the multiplayer role-playing game for iOS devices. EA made the announcement on the official Ultima Forever forums. The game was billed as a spiritual successor to Ultima IV, but being a mobile title EA added micro-transactions into the mix. The online services will shut down on August 29.

Free-to-play MMO shooter Robocraft has managed to surpass one million registered players since its release on Steam Early Access. While an early build of the game was available prior to being released on Steam's Early Access, developer Freejam says that putting it on Steam has helped drive the game's user base significantly.

HBO's documentary film about game addiction in South Korea will premiere tonight at 9:00 PM ET. The film, "Love Child," tells the story of two South Korean parents who were so addicted to the Korean MMO Prius that they neglected their three-month-old child to the point that he died. They were later charged by police.

CCP Games has promoted EVE Online Senior Producer Andie 'CCP Seagull' Nordgren to the role of executive producer  on the company's flagship MMO property. In her new role, Nordgren will oversee all aspects of EVE Online’s production from the company’s Reykjavik headquarters.

What does the average gamer look like and how are people who play games different from the rest of the population? Are they better or worse than the rest of society? While Jagex would never claim to know the full answers to these burning questions, the company behind the long-running MMORPG RuneScape thinks it has a clearer picture.

EVE Online makers CCP Games say that it is pursuing legal measures after discovering its recently erected Eve Online monument had been vandalized and defaced by unknown persons. The 16ft tall 'Worlds Within a World' monument was unveiled last Wednesday in Reykjavik, Iceland, to commemorate the eleven-year anniversary of the sci-fi space exploration MMO.

Sony Online Entertainment has released a short video highlighting some of the things that players have been building and discovering in Landmark. Also, today SOE officially opened submissions for its "Landmarks of Landmark" competition, a challenge that offers the chance for some builders to have their creations prominently featured as permanent additions to the online game world. More details on that can be found here.

Games journalist Andrew Groen launched a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for his book project, "A History of the Great Empires of Eve Online." Within hours of its launch, the crowd-funding campaign for the book, which will explain in plain English the in-game history of CCP's popular space MMO universe, has already garnered well over half of its goal.

It looks like those who were keen on playing Sony Online Entertainment's catalog of online games for a flat monthly fee will have to wait just a little bit longer. SOE announced today that it has delayed its "All-Access Pass" subscription plan to April 29. The company previously delayed its launch from April 6 to April 23, but this week it delayed it one more time. Why another delay? To ensure that the transfer to the "All Access Pass" subscription system is seamless, says SOE.

According to a Reddit thread, an exploit in The Elder Scrolls Online allows players to farm unlimited sums of gold. Developer ZeniMax Online Studios has already stepped in to prevent further use of the bug, it's unclear just how much the exploit has thrown off the in-game economy and what can be done to roll back the damage. A similar situation happened with the Diablo III Auction House, which caused trillions in virtual currency to flood the in-game economy.

According to a report on Gematsu, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has registered more than 2 million player accounts. The new number is being attributed to the MMORPG being released on the PS4 this week. Square announced in 2013 that PS3 players would gain full access to the PS4 version at no additional cost.

The revamped title launched last August on PC and PS3, following a beta that garnered more than 1 million sign-ups.

Sony Online Entertainment passed along a note explaining how EverQuest II players will benefit from an SOE All Access membership when it officially launches next week.

Some of the special benefits EverQuest II players will see in the game starting next week includes seven character slots, a "Member Benefits buff" that provides an additional 15 percent coin loot and 10 percent mount speed, double the alternate currencies earned in game, "members-only" Loyalty items and "all access" to broker, in-game mail, chat and spell tiers.

EVE Online maker CCP Games announced that it is offering live streaming options for its annual fan celebration EVE Fanfest (May 1-3). Each year, thousands of EVE Online, DUST 514, and now EVE: Valkyrie players from around the world travel to CCP's headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland for three days of celebration of the EVE universe.

Sony Online Entertainment announced that Player Studio support will begin for Landmark "on or before May 1." As part of the rollout, Player Studio creators in select regions outside of the United States will be able to submit in-game items across all Player Studio-supported games.

Funcom reported less-than-stellar revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013, citing a drop in the performance of its MMO, The Secret World. In the quarter that ended December 31, 2013 Funcom reported $4.3 million in revenue, down from the $7.8 million it generated in the same period a year earlier. Funcom's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $233,000, down from $2 million the prior year. The company also reported a $4.2 million impairment on The Secret World and its underlying technology due to a decrease in its projected revenue.

Turbine has been updating its long running MMORPG Asheron's Call since 1999, much to the delight of fans still enamored with the game that Turbine had hoped to challenge the supremacy of EverQuest and Ultima Online (at the time). While the game was not popular enough to take out those giants in the MMO space, it managed to garner it own small but loyal following over the years.

Erling Ellingsen, Funcom's director of communications, tells MMORPG.com that his company is cooperating with Norwegian authorities who are conducting an investigation into allegations that executives at the MMO developer engaged in insider trading.

Norwegian MMO developer and publisher Funcom is under investigation for insider trading, according to this Eurogamer report. According to the report, staff were sent home today as Norwegian authorities collected documents related to an investigation into insider trading, though specific details about the investigation remain unknown as of this writing. Funcom's stock has also been temporarily frozen on the Oslo stock market.

Sony Online Entertainment will shut down four MMOs in the next few months. The first two games to be shut down will be Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures and Free Realms, which are scheduled to go dark March 31. Wizardry Online and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will also be shut down, but much later in the year - July 31.

Speaking specifically about Free Realms - which is available on both PS3 and PC, - SOE said that the game had reached its lifecycle:

A documentary about the ill effects of online game addiction in South Korea made its debut this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. According to the festival's official website (as reported on by GameSpot), the documentary explores South Korea's online gaming culture as it follows the story of a couple whose three-month-old daughter died of malnutrition while they were allegedly playing the massively multiplayer online game, Prius Online.

Turbine Entertainment announced via a forum post that it has renewed the license for Lord of the Rings, allowing its long-running MMO Lord of the Rings Online to continue operations.

Community Manager Rick Heaton confirmed that his company had renewed the license for the game set in the universe created in Tolkien's popular books in a forum post.

On this week's show hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about Sony's PlayStation Now streaming service, Sony Online Entertainment's all access MMO pass, Ultimate Gay Fighter, and South Australia's government being pressured into getting rid of anti-game billboards. Download Episode 83 now: SuperPAC Episode 83 (1 hour, 8 minutes) 78.5 MB.

Sony Online Entertainment will likely change its subscriptions model for its line-up of PC MMOs into a single system where users pay one fee for access to its entire catalog of games. In a recent Reddit thread, SOE head John Smedley said that the company would "likely move forward" with a plan to charge customers a flat monthly fee of $14.99 for access to its entire catalog of games on the PC.

MMO company Perfect World Entertainment is making a major push into the free-to-play market on video game consoles. The company announced that it has completed a company expansion by creating a console division targeting current and next-gen consoles. Planned console products expected include current and future games from Perfect World Entertainment’s suite of developers, the company said.

EA Mythic's Warhammer licensed MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was shut down last night after the license held by EA Mythic from Games Workshop expired. Former Warhammer Online producer Josh Drescher talked at length about the game on his personal blog, saying that most of the criticism towards the game was spot on, while some of it was just "uninformed BS."

Backers of Richard Garriott's and Portalarium's online-focused RPG Shroud of the Avatar, will get a taste of the game beginning today with the launch of Shroud of the Avatar Release 1. The early version of the game's client will allow players to log in to their accounts, download the client, create a character and begin to explore the streets of Owl's Head, the game's first town open for business. The release comes nine months after the project was announced by Portalarium in early March.

Players of the long-running (and still popular) Jagex MMO RuneScape have raised $90,838 for charity by donating their in-game currency through a magic well located in the game called the "Well of Goodwill." The money raised through this community initiative will go to such charities as the Willow Foundation, SpecialEffect, Action For Kids, Games Aid, Internet Watch Foundation, HART and the DEC Philippines Typhoon Appeal.

CCP Games is offering a one-day "Black Friday" deal for its space MMO, Eve Online. From now until Midnight PST November 30, customers who sign up for a new membership to the game will pay only 99 cents for a month's worth of time.

In addition, all users can choose one of four specialized exploration frigates: the militaristic Sukuuvestaa Heron, the regal Sarum Magnate, the sturdy Vherokior Probe, or the Inner Zone Shipping Imicus.