Generally used to describe MMOs from before World of Warcraft’s launch in 2004, though sometimes shortened to describe just the first few MMOs launched prior to 2000.
classic mmo
The Daily Grind: Would you play a World of Warcraft progression server?
Classic servers and progression servers are on my mind lately. EverQuest just got yet another progression server; it had launch issues, but it's up...
Ultima Online seeks players for expansion focus group
Ultima Online producer Bonnie Armstrong has put out a call for player focus testers. Broadsword is searching for somewhere in the neighborhood of 250...
Jagex addresses continued old school RuneScape DDoS attacks
Jagex has published a website update focused on some of the "more pressing issues" being faced by the Old School RuneScape community. The ongoing...
Dark Age of Camelot throws Memorial Day bonus weekend
Dark Age of Camelot fans might want to adjust their plans for the upcoming holiday weekend in the US, as Broadsword is turning on...
Funcom financials trend downward, new CEO appointed
While it could have been worse, Funcom's Q1 2015 financials could have been a heck of a lot better, too. In yesterday's financial report,...
The Game Archaeologist: Multiplayer BattleTech
It was the 31st century, where feuding factions decided to settle their differences by throwing multi-ton war robots at each other. It was also...
Massively Overthinking: What would persuade you to play a classic MMO?
For this edition of Massively Overthinking, Kickstarter donor Sargon wants us think back to 1997, when Ultima Online launched and parted MMOs from graphical MUDs forever....
Raph Koster used MMO design to help revitalize a bar trivia game
You might know Raph Koster from his MMO legacy as a designer on Ultima Online or Star Wars Galaxies, or perhaps from his current...
Tamriel Infinium: A guide to Elder Scrolls Online’s combat basics
I was looking back through some of my posts about the Elder Scrolls Online, and I noticed that I've mentioned combat quite a bit....
Perfect Ten: Ten MMOs still going after ten years
It struck me, very recently, that a decade is a long time for MMOs.
If we're going to count Ultima Online as the first proper...
Anarchy Online has full IP reset, new zones in the works
Anarchy Online may be fresh off its mighty 18.7.0 patch, but the team is not slowing down to congratulate itself. A new dev update...
The Game Archaeologist: AOL’s Neverwinter Nights
Here's a question for you: How much do you really, really have to love a game to pay $6 to $8 an hour to...
Shards Online prepares for pre-alpha test on May 9th
Shards Online is preparing to give players a brief taste of its future potential, as Citadel Studios is planning on a pre-alpha test to...
The Daily Grind: When should MMO devs just stop tweaking?
Yesterday's reveal of Lord of the Rings Online's legendary item imbuing system struck me as a promising show of faith from the devs but nevertheless a...
Dark Age of Camelot welcomes traveling merchants, prepares next patch
If the latest Dark Age of Camelot newsletter is any indication, the team and community are crazy involved with this classic RvR MMO. Broadsword...
Shroud of the Avatar to introduce player-owned towns with Release 17
Shroud of the Avatar's Release 17 is preparing to hit the ground running when it comes out on Thursday, April 30th. In its most...
Take in a full hour of Anarchy Online’s new beginner experience
Wondering how Anarchy Online's revamped newbie experience has panned out? Second to actually playing the game yourself (which, y'know, is always an option), you...
The Game Archaeologist: What Star Wars Galaxies life was like before the NGE
A decade after Star Wars Galaxies' "New Game Enhancements" hit the game, controversy, grumbling, and revelations still pop up about the notorious decision to...
Koster on Star Wars Galaxies’ combat and social connectivity ‘glue’
MMO designer Raph Koster is back with yet another post-mortem on Star Wars Galaxies, this one the second part of his "living society" discussion. Get...
The Daily Grind: What’s the oldest MMO you’ve ever played?
I read yesterday's news about Meridian 59 with interest because it's one of the few genre titles that was before my time. My MMO obsession began...