Ever since internet connectivity made possible the inception of the genre, the addictive gameplay grind of massively multiplayer online games has dug its claws into the body of many unsuspecting gamers. Questing, looting, farming, ganking, and raiding across vast digital worlds, populated by real people; MMOs can very quickly swallow up great wedges of your spare time, turning even the most sprightly young bucks into sleep deprived, pizza eating zombies of the night.
MMOs completely revolutionized the RPG scene and was really the first genre that debuted the concept of continually adding content to a foundation game. Single player RPGs offered replayability in the form of different character builds and branching narrative, but MMOs gave birth to “existing” within an online environment; one that was highly populated, constantly updated and being fleshed out with ever more detailed lore.
Of course, we also have MMOs to thank for much of the verbiage that we use today in everyday conversation. Only just the other day I reminded a noobie that I pwned his ass by using a debuff, despite the fact that my favorite characters leet power up had been nerfed… Ok, maybe not everyday lingo, but you catch my drift!
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about MMORPGs, however, is that, with the exception of perhaps only our favorite arcade classics, some of the longest living video games ever made in terms of their active player base belong to the genre. Online worlds just refuse to die, and in this article, we take a look at several iconic MMORPGs that are over a decade old and still being played today.