Here's a crazy idea...

I'm not disagreeing with your point about SOE/DBG, but if we limit Blizzard to MMORPGs, do they really "keep" making any new games? WoW is in the same expansion life support as EQ, just more profitable, and without a TLP equivalent (unless they recently started one).

As much as I hate WoW for some of the design decisions it made popular, it is now 13 years old. I'd kind of like to see what Blizzard would do if they made a new game. They cancelled Project Titan, so not much hope there.

Let's not forget that TLP is also a cycle with new releases. To some unknown extent there are people that re-buy DBC items for their new characters, because they're starting over.

Daybreak continues to make expansions for the live game because it is profitable for the cost input.

Daybreak offers progression servers as they are profitable for the cost input. Though how Vulak still meets this test is a good question... maybe it "paid forward" enough?

The idea of some "retro-infilled new content" is interesting. I think Daybreak would have to sell each zone via the marketplace (i.e., $5 for that newly "restored" originally planned end-game tower in Luclin).

I think that launching a live-server high-level version of any retro zone, for the $5 but included with the next expac makes sense (so you pay for early access and progression access). Put one unique illusion clicky in both versions of the zone and people will buy it (for example).

New MMO in development... not sure there is money in that. Hence we aren't seeing much of it for several years. A company is probably better off making a phone-app game.

I think the reality is that Blizzard is a gaming company at the top of the food chain. They don't invest in to any genre that doesn't have the potential to make top dollar. The MMORPG genre isn't top dollar in the gaming industry anymore which in my opinion is why there is no forth coming new MMORPG from Blizzard.

That does not mean there isn't money to be made in the MMORPG genre. There is plenty of money to be made in this genre. It just isn't at the level that a company like Blizzard would invest money in to a new game of that genre.

People like Brad gets that. He isn't after a 100million dollar game release. He's ok with a smaller share, and thank God for people like him because with out them, there would be no new MMORPGs coming out.

If all industries abandoned any product that wasn't top dollar, you would see Ford, Chevy, Honda, Toyota, etc abandoning their 20k to 50k line of cars because it isn't as much as a Lamborghini or Bugatti. There are various markets in every industry.

MMORPGs are not a top dollar genre anymore, but they are still highly profitable for any company willing to put the time, effort, and money in to making a quality product.

This article on Massively Overpowered tends to indicate that the MMORPG genre is alive and well based on the recent public offering on the Korean stock exchange of Black Desert Online's creator Pearl Abyss.

Here's a quote from the IPO:

So, there IS a lot of money still to be made in the MMORPG genre.

Pearl Abyss has 4 new games in development right now accoring to the following quote from the IPO: