And just like that, Albion turned seven! With so much going on - a new server, soaring player numbers, and several big updates - the past year has just flown by. And on the eve of the Paths to Glory update, it’s time to take a moment to look back at just how far the game has come. So put on your Anniversary outfit, grab a slice of cake, and make yourself comfortable as we look back at some of the biggest moments of the last twelve months.
Wild Blood
Albion’s players got a taste of Wild Blood in the fall, as a new content update introduced some massive features to the game.
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With Shapeshifter Weapons, Tracking, Awakened Items, reworked islands, and much more, Wild Blood unleashed Albion’s primal side, and opened up a whole world of new possibilities.
End of Year Awards
Winter saw end-of-year awards handed out, and Albion Online added to its growing collection with two more prestigious prizes. MassivelyOP awarded Albion Best PvP MMO for the third year running, and MMORPG.com then named the game Indie MMO of the Year. Thanks again to everyone whose continued support has made this possible!
The end of the year also saw the announcement of a new approach to the game’s update schedule, which would begin at the turn of 2024…
Crystal Raiders
No sooner had Uncle Frost thrown his last snowball of the season, than it was time for Albion’s first update of 2024. Crystal Raiders was the first in Albion’s three-monthly update cycle, and it brought some big changes to Guild Seasons.
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With the introduction of Territory Raiding and Crystal Weapons, along with other changes like a reworked Conqueror’s Challenge, Crystal Raiders shook up guild warfare in Albion for the seasons to come.
Albion Europe
A year after the successful launch of the Albion Asia server came another momentous announcement: Albion Online was launching a brand-new server in Europe. This would bring massively improved ping to thousands of players, old and new, along with the chance to build a completely independent gameworld from the ground up.
To celebrate this development, an all-new live action trailer was released, which might have a familiar ring to some of you…
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Albion Europe had a unique Beta phase, with players flocking to the new server to earn the exclusive Duelist vanity set. A special, condensed Guild Season was won by Escalation, and then, on April 29, the new server opened its doors.
Foundations
While all this was going on, development of the game didn’t slow down. Along with the new server, April saw the release of Albion’s second update of 2024: Foundations.
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Foundations continued to add new dimensions to Guild Seasons, with the introduction of Fortifications, Siege Banners, Territory Activity Chests, and more. With guilds now able to construct powerful defenses for their territories, Season 23 marked the beginning of a new era of warfare in Albion.
Record Player Numbers
2024’s updates and the launch of Albion Europe made Albion more vibrant than ever before, and this was confirmed when the game smashed its player number record in May.
Albion Online surpassed 350,000 daily active users on May 1, eclipsing the previous record set a year ago with the launch of Albion Asia. With so many new and experienced players enjoying the game, it’s a truly exciting time to be a part of the world of Albion as we look ahead to the future.
Paths to Glory
And that future begins next week, with the release of the Paths to Glory update on July 22.
This will bring the Albion Journal, a brand-new achievement system with some very special rewards available. It also sees some big quality-of-life improvements, a new Dynamic Spawn Rate system, new Crystal Weapons, and much more. With all this, Albion has never offered so much to so many players.
Join us in celebrating Albion’s anniversary now with the Living Legacy event, featuring some all-new statues of Albion’s previous season winners to take down. And the special Anniversary Paladin vanity bundle is available until July 30 at 10 UTC, so grab yours while you can! Meanwhile, we’d like to once again give our thanks to you, the community, for what’s been an incredible year. Here’s to the future!
