While it looked as though fans of classic MMORPGs would be losing one of the oldest titles on the market this year, some business finagling resulted in a new lease on life for The Realm Online. This isn’t a completely new concept, as the title cheated long-term death by being reborn back in 2018.
So this past summer, Norseman Games sold it to a new publisher, Virtual World Holdings, for a new era of development (amidst quite a bit of drama, as Rat Labs, the dev team that had been working largely unpaid on the title for years, was rather badly treated in the transition). Now, the new dev team, Digital Alchemy, has relaunched the game this week as an improved and “reimagined” product on a new server with a $4.99/month subscription.
The new studio put out a manifesto alongside of the launch day patch notes, saying, “Realm is a different thing for different people. We believe Mabon’s Gamble [server] is the correct long-term choice for the game we’ve loved for 30 years. Every decision we’ve made is towards the end of making this the best version of the game we can. If there’s something you disagree with, let us know! Like many games, we intend on keeping on top of balance issues, and we need your feedback to be successful in this endeavor. And if it’s just not your jam, we’ll be keeping the lights on over at Despothe’s Grove [server] as well. To the players, thanks for your patience! And to the staff, thanks for all the hard work the last two months! Long live The Realm Online!”
