Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic studios announced in a press release today that Neverwinter: The Cloaked Ascendancy is available today on PC and will release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year. Neverwinter is a free-to-play MMO that features quick combat and breathtaking dungeons.
The Epic Games Store wants you to help folks get healthy with this weeks free game.
The latest game in BioWare’s fantasy role-playing series went through ten years of development turmoil
In early November, on the eve of the crucial holiday shopping season, staffers at the video-game studio BioWare were feeling optimistic. After an excruciating development cycle, they had finally released their latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the early reception was largely positive. The role-playing game was topping sales charts on Steam, and solid, if not spectacular, reviews were rolling in.
Its easy they called the die hard fans people in their nerd caves who will buy anything and then went woke to reach modern audiences....insulting the nerds in their caves along the way showing utter contempt for their fan base. very hapy it failed and any company who insults their fan base and treat their customers with contempt and insults, in future, i also hope fail.
It’s disappointing but not surprising to see what's happening with Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the broader situation at BioWare. The layoffs are tragic — no one wants to see talented developers lose their jobs. But when studios repeatedly create games that alienate their own fanbase, outcomes like this become unfortunately predictable.
There’s a pattern we’re seeing far too often: beloved franchises are revived, only to be reshaped into something almost unrecognizable. Changes are made that no one asked for, often at the expense of what originally made these games special. Then, when long-time fans express concern or lose interest, they’re told, “This game might not be for you.” But when those same fans heed that advice and don’t buy the game, suddenly they're labeled as toxic, sexist, bigoted, or worse.
Let’s be clear: the overwhelming majority of gamers have no issue with diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, or strong female leads. In fact, some of the most iconic characters in gaming — like Aloy, Ellie, or FemShep — are proof that inclusivity and excellent storytelling can and do go hand in hand. The issue arises when diversity feels performative, forced, or disconnected from the narrative — when characters or themes are inserted not to serve the story, but to satisfy a corporate DEI checklist. Audiences can tell the difference.
When studios chase approval from a vocal minority that often doesn’t even buy games — while simultaneously dismissing loyal fans who actually do — they risk not just the success of individual titles, but the health of their entire studio. Telling your core customers “don’t buy it if you don’t like it” is not a viable business strategy. Because guess what? Many of us won’t. And when the game fails commercially, blaming those very fans for not supporting it is both unfair and self-defeating.
Gamers aren’t asking for less diversity or less progress. We’re asking for better writing, thoughtful character development, and a respect for the franchises we’ve supported for decades. When you give people great games that speak to them — whether they’re old fans or new players — they will show up. But if you keep making games for people who don’t play them, don’t be surprised when those who do stop showing up
I thought the writing and character development were fine. Sometimes things just dont resonate with people.
Recent changes to the PlayStation Store have made its simpler to purchase games across different regions, possibly due to a bug.
Like any MMO your experience is what you make of it and the latency of your connection from your console/PC to the nearest server.
Since the game is free to play you will come across microtransactions although they are not in your face and are mainly cosmetic. I do like how the game eases you into the gameplay in that it is not all that difficult to play by yourself although you can get a free NPC as a companion (think Lydia in Skyrim who can be very useful) at about level 15. Other companions can be purchased with in-game currency that you can get by doing dungeon quests or with real world money if you are the impatient type.
You can even form a guild and invite real-world friends or acquaintances or you can try and be the best in PvP although both of these are optional. Personally, I have found most players are quite helpful even to a loan player especially if you return the favor.
If you like RPGs in the Sword and Sourcery genres then you will probably like Neverwinter and being free is a nice bonus. After all, you have nothing to lose except your time. 😉
BTW. Neverwinter is one of the few RPG's that I have played that you don't need to do any grinding (you can if you wish) since the quests are many and varied and allow you to level up at a reasonable pace. Before entering an area or fighting a particular dragon or demon there is a recommended level. Go in too low you have a very good chance of getting one hit killed.