Its no secret that MMORPGS are massive multiplayer experiences—I mean, it’s in the name! But what happens to an MMO when it loses its players, or its developer can no longer support the game? The sad, but simple, truth is the MMO, more often than not, will die. That means the servers will be shut down forever and the game will (pretty much) never be accessible ever again.
Let’s take a look at ten of the MMOs we most miss.
The Sims: Online
The Sims, and its many, many offshoots, captured the imaginations of gamers in the early 2000s, solidifying the series’ place as a staple of gaming.
However, in a brief six years between 2002 and 2008, players were able to play The Sims in a fully online version of the game caller The Sims: Online. All of the game’s staple features of character customisation and needing to manage your Sim’s mood were there—and boy were they fun to experience with friends.
Hellgate: London
Realtime shooters and PvE MMOs have never quite gelled; with only a handful of notable examples existing in the world today. Hellgate: London was one of the early pioneers of the genre.
Developed by Flagship Studios, who were involved in creating the Diablo series, unleashed this post-apocalyptic action-RPG onto the market in 2007. Players could choose between three classes to fight their ways through a hell-spawn-ridden London. But, needless to say, the title’s life slowly came to an end in 2009…
But wait… did we say you can’t play it? After the game was acquired by HanbitSoft the game was redeveloped and expanded upon—meaning you can still play Hellgate: London to your hearts content… but it’ll never be the same game as it was back then…
RuneScape Classic
Seeing as we cheated on the last one, we may as well get this one out the way too.
RuneScape is arguably the second most iconic MMORPG—right in line after the behemoth that is World of Warcraft.
Launched in 2001, it took the game 17 years to eventually be shut down… but as many of you will know you can still play RuneScape. And you can even play it in two different forms! Old School RuneScape or Runsecape3.
RuneScape classic is of course a different to these other versions, but let’s be honest, OSRS is superior.
If you’re looking to get ahead in OSRS or RS3, head over to ElDorado.gg and get your hands on some extra 07RS gold, items or even some sleek boosting services. You can thank us later!
PlanetSide
Blending the FPS and RPG genres in a MMO setting, PlanetSide was very much an innovator. It allowed players to accrue experience by killing other player, capturing bases and towers while letting this experience accrue long-term, introducing RPG-like strategy and builds to the game.
While the closure of PlanetSide may sound shattering for such an innovative title—Planetside 2 had already launched free-to-play, allowing players to experience all the same thrills in an updated (and far more populated) setting.
ToonTown Online
If you were born in the 90s, chances are you’ve played ToonTown Online—Disney’s attempt at breaking into the MMO market.
While ToonTown bore all the trappings of a classic MMO, many of its players (along with their parents) couldn’t help but find the graphics, animations and uncanny displays utterly terrifying. That said, it also allowed players to interact with Disney classics like Goofy and Mickey Mouse.
After closure, avid fans of the game were so disappointed that a dedicated team of volunteers faithfully recreated the game labelling it ToonTown Rewritten. This version of the game still exists today and is still totally free.
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
Star Wars is arguably the largest franchise to be created in the latter part of the 20st century. Beyond its countless films, expanded universe, series, and figurines, it’s no secret that the franchise has embraced gaming—releasing over 140 Star Wars games over the years.
Star Wars Galaxies was the franchise’s first foray into the MMO. Building on the basis built in games like Knights of the Old Republic, Galaxies allowed players to choose between ten species and an array of classes in order to trade, smuggle, battle, craft and experience a story within the Star Wars Universe.
Eight years after its release, in 2011, the game’s servers finally shut down. But players did not need to wait long to dive into another Star Wars MMO, as Star Wars The Old Republic went live later that year.
But if one dead MMO wasn’t enough, the 2010 MMO Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures is another Star Wars MMO you’ll never be able to play again!
The Matrix Online
While a Star Wars MMO is undoubtedly fun, there’s no franchise tie-in MMO which caught the hearts and minds of players as much as The Matrix Online. Well, I am of course saying this with incredibly rose-tinted goggles… I think the idea of The Matrix Online captures the hearts and minds of Matrix fans far more than the actual game did.
Released in 2005, developed by Monolith, the game saw players explore the world of Mega City while balancing three opposing factions While it had its fair share of combat, class loadouts and players, the game quickly fell apart as players lost interest. This led to Warner Bros selling all the right to the game to Sony in June 2005, mere months after release! Leaving only three servers active. These servers held an incredibly low player count for the following four years until the game was unplugged, as it were, in 2009.
MMORPGs are an amazing genre of games. They bring people together and provide a collaborative (and competitive) environment which no other games can. However, this sword is double-edged. As they require hefty upkeep from publishers, it’s destined that every MMO to ever release will eventually be shut down—entering a state where players will never be able to experience the game again. This hard truth will even see the likes of World of Warcraft one day close. But don’t panic, that end is not even near the horizon just yet.
