While the common assumption about text-based MMOs is that they can and will last forever, the truth is that many of these are subject to the same fates as graphical MMORPGs. So it is with the three decade-old Federation 2, which closed its doors back on October 1st.
The owners said that the shutdown was necessary due to technical reasons, including changing security requirements, health issues of the operators, and the loss of the game’s hosting company.
“The game itself has been slowly fading from its peak on AOL where it had thousands of players online all at once, the move to the internet coincided with text games going out of fashion and graphical games taking over,” the operators posted. “And so, with sorrow in our hearts, we have had to make the decision that it is time to draw the Federation era to a close.”
Launching back in the late ’80s, Federation 2 was heavily focused on an intergalactic economy and social interactions between players as they jockied for status and domination. MUD creator Richard Bartle once summed up the game as thus: “Federation 2 is a game with a pedigree, but of modest size, poor breadth, shallow depth, and little atmosphere. Nevertheless, its players are enthusiastic, its support team dedicated, and its future rosy.”
