From phenomenal Halloween events to commemorative moments, in-game events are a staple for many online games. While some events are recurring and come with every passing year, there are sometimes events that are new and stand out as great moments in a video game’s life cycle.
As 2019 comes to a close, there is plenty to look back on for the biggest and best in-game events of 2019 that broke the mold and brought something completely new to their respective games. Most annual events have been to focus on the brand-new experiences created this year.
For Honor: April Fool’s Day
What first seemed to be a funny April Fool’s Day prank actually turned out to be a real limited-time event in For Honor when Ubisoft decided to add the Rabbids into For Honor for the day. When players logged into For Honor on April 1, they were greeted with a message and a picture of one of the Rabbids, letting them know that for the day there would be updated sounds, effects, and models to celebrate the wacky holiday. While most fans expected this to be a prank, when they loaded into a match instead of the usual NPC soldiers, there were armies of Rabbids fighting alongside the players. While this event only lasted a day, many may consider it one of the most memorable and hilarious events of 2019.
Destiny 2: Solstice of Heroes/European Aerial Zone Event
While Destiny 2 has featured a Solstice of Heroes event in the past, 2019’s Solstice of Heroes was unlike anything done previously. Typically, this event is a time where players get to work on upgrading a special set of armor by doing special tasks and reflecting on the past year of the game. Bungie also does the Moments of Triumph during this time as well.
However, 2019’s Solstice of Heroes featured a new zone and activity called the European Aerial Zone, a 3-man matchmade activity that let players take on minibosses and explore a floating set of islands in search of treasure. Much like Destiny 2’s Dawning Event, the EAZ did require a lot of grinding, but many fans had a lot of fun exploring the EAZ to track down hidden chests.
Pokemon GO: Team Rocket Disruption Event
Few games have taken off and gained such a dedicated following as Pokemon GO has. This is largely in part of the continued support and updates from Niantic as the game goes on, and Pokemon GO has featured several different types of events in the past, from research quests to special Pokemon spawn events. The Team Rocket Disruption event is a mix of most of these concepts.
In November, Team GO Rocket began taking over raid battles, and players got to face off against special Team GO Rocket Leaders with powerful Shadow Pokemon. Certain Pokemon, like Meowth, also had a higher chance of being shiny for those players who like shiny hunting. Team GO Rocket has made their presence quite known in Pokemon Go after their addition to the game - even now players can find new shiny Pokemon in Rocket raids. Team GO Rocket has certainly made Pokemon GO a lot more dynamic and interesting over the past few months.
Bloodborne: “Return to Yharnam” Community Event
While most Halloween events are organized and hosted by the creators of the game, Bloodborne’s “Return to Yharnam” event was organized entirely by the game’s dedicated community. The idea behind the event is that players flock back to the four-year-old game, revitalizing its playerbase and giving die-hard fans of the game something new to look forward to.
While some players created wild costumes in-game to show off, the main focus was using the Beckoning Bell or Sinister Resonant Bell in-game to join another player’s game to spend time together. While some fans of the game used it as a way to fight against other players, some used it to help newer players get through some tough bosses. Regardless of how players spent their time during the event, hopefully Bloodborne 2 will have such an engaging community that can host events like this - whenever it eventually comes out.
Borderlands 3: Bloody Harvest
Just one month after a somewhat rocky launch in September, Gearbox Software introduced a brand-new Halloween event in Borderlands 3 that let players face new enemies, earn new gear, and experiment with new buffs. The Bloody Harvest event centered around farming ghosts, getting enough Hectoplasm, and invading Heck to defeat Captain Haunt. The Terror mechanic was also introduced during the event and could be rolled on weapons instead of a usual annointed effect. Some interesting legendary items were also introduced as part of the Bloody Harvest as well as some spooky cosmetics to help the Vault Hunters get in the Halloween spirit.
There’s currently no word on if the Bloody Harvest will make a return next year, or if there will be other holiday events, but if the other events feature rad content like the Bloody Harvest did then they are sure to be pretty well received.
Monster Hunter World: Appreciation Fest
Capcom is no stranger to events when it comes to Monster Hunter World, but the Appreciation Fest event was something special for Monster Hunter fans. This event marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of Monster Hunter World, and to celebrate, Capcom decorated the in-game hub and allowed players to partake in past events to unlock most of the exclusive event cosmetics from the past year.
The event wasn’t only older quests, as it featured some new hunts for players to take part in, like a gargantuan Jagras and a tempered Lavasioth. There were special bounties to complete and daily rewards to claim that let players unlock new, unique event gear as well. This event did well to hold players over until Capcom released one of the best DLCs of 2019 in the form of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.
Rainbow Six Siege: Doktor’s Curse
2019 was a great year for Halloween events, and Rainbow Six Siege is no exception to this. The popular tactical shooter got a special event called Doktor’s Curse, which pitted monsters against exterminators who are trying to end the curse. The game mode was designed so that the defenders (the monsters) needed to hide from the exterminators who are kitted out with special tools to eliminate the monsters. The defenders win if they either survive the round or eliminate the powerful exterminators. The event was a quick fan-favorite among the Siege community, and many are hoping that this event’s quality is an indication of some of things players can expect from Rainbow Six Quarantine whenever it eventually releases.
Mortal Kombat 11: Winter Wonderland
Most of Mortal Kombat 11’s in-game events have been Krypt events which give players more interesting and unique rewards while participating in the Krypt game mode. However, for the winter holidays, Mortal Kombat 11 received its first major event in the form of the Winter Wonderland event. From December 22 through December 27, players could participate in a special winter-themed tower to earn some unique winter-themed cosmetics. In the tower, there would be Killer Kanes, Sledding Tarkatans, Parachuting Ginger Deadmen, Exploding Snowmen, Christmas Trees, Menorahs, Dreidels, and Shooting Stars that would come into play at random times during the fights. If players really enjoyed the winter festivities, then they will definitely want to try the New Year’s themed tower that started on December 28.
Apex Legends: Fight or Fright Halloween Event
Apex Legends has featured several different types of events in the past, from the notorious Iron Crown event to the widely liked Wraith Town Takeover. Each of these events has featured a unique limited-time game mode for fans to enjoy. For Halloween this year, Respawn introduced the Fight or Fright event, a unique take on a horde mode which forced players to team up when the enemy team grew too large.
Taking place on a special night-time King’s Canyon, players drop into the map solo and as players are defeated by one another, they will respawn as shadows. The shadows only have claws but can climb indefinitely and have powerful melee attacks. Whenever 10 survivors remained, they became teammates and needed to work together to meet at the drop ship that would pick them up and take them to safety. This event was a massive success in the community and many fans hope it will return next year. But for now, players can enjoy the Holo-day Bash event that features its own unique limited-time game mode.
Fortnite: The End Event
Few events in video game history caused quite a stir as Fortnite’s “The End” event. Epic Games decided to completely destroy their first map to start again from scratch, and to do this they created an event that sucked the original map into a black hole - with players still playing on the map. Players in-game were allowed to soar over the beautiful and terrifying sight as the map that many fans loved was ripped apart. Eventually the game turned dark, going offline, and leaving players with nothing but a camera shot of the black hole (and a mini-game to play while Fortnite was offline). Eventually the maintenance period subsided and players were allowed to play on the new map, but not before many fans were left stunned by this cataclysmic event.
2019 was a fantastic year for in-game events. From the myriad of holiday events that let players be festive to the cataclysmic Fortnite black hole, game developers are really stepping up their game when it comes to making memorable in-game moments. Hopefully, 2020 will feature even more unique and remarkable in-game events for players to take part in.
