Massively multiplayer online game

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) are online games with large numbers of players, typically from hundreds to thousands of concurrent players, often on the same server. These game types usually feature huge, persistent worlds, also known as "open" worlds, as the player is, generally, allowed to go in any direction they wish, regardless of the direction they are given, althoughand the world varies based on the game. These games often include virtual in-game currencies whichthat allow players to purchase items in the game. AndThey feature complex social arrangements, which, dependentdepending on the game, can include guilds, tribes, or teams; and. toTo facilitate collaborative play, willthey include various tools, such as live-audio feeds or online chats.

MMOs require an internet or network connection, meaning for a long period they could only be played on computers. Although, asAs game consoles began to include internet connections, MMOs have extended to consoles. And as mobile phones have increased in complexity, mobile-based MMOs have also increased in popularity. These games are further characterized by emphasizing multiplayer gameplay, with very few of them having any significant single-player aspect or client-side artificial intelligence. Because of this, many MMOs are not "beatable" in the way many single-player games are, but rather often evolve and provide different tools and aspects through development and expansion games to keep players interested.

Although MMOs are considered, in themselves, a genre of video games, the MMO is better understood as a different way of playing a game. Rather than playing a single-player, non-connected, game, which could have a multiplayer of up to 50fifty players (often connnected over local area networks [LAN]);, MMOs offer similar game genres in an MMOsMMO's style. Meaning, instead of a role-playing game (RPG) wherein which the player interacts with artificially intelligent non-player characters (NPCs), while playing an MMO RPG, they interact mostly with other players, and the necessary NPCs, such as vendors or quest-givers, to complete the experience. Other types of MMOs include the following:

The strong social aspect of MMOs suggestsuggests they can be a kind of social media, or online communication tool. Often players form friendships, create communities, and work together to accomplish a variety of communialcommunal and solo goals. This suggests that players can learn lessons in MMOs aroudaround effective and efficient communication, team building, and leadership skills, which can be transferred to real-world scenarios. Studies conducted into the possible positive effects of MMOs, especiallyparticularly in light of the dearth of positive research around video games, found a significant positive relationship between playing MMOs, with their strong social and collaborative gameplay, on social well-being, irrespective of the player's age or their gaming patternpatterns, such as casusal gaming patterns versus immersed gaming patterns.

Behind an MMO, there is a lot at work. The game itself is hosted on one or more cloud data centercenters, which can be located around the world and,. whenWhen a player connects, they access the closest data center instance nearto them, which works to improve their game experience by offering the lowest ping, or fastest response, time. When a player connectsconnecting, they go through a firewall designed to monitor and control user traffic, defending the cloud data center from threats and thwartthwarting illegal access. Gaming traffic moves through a load balancer, which determines where ththe eplayerplayer resides, to ensure the consistent performance of a game for all players.

Once connectconnected, gamers log into their accountin through a login server whereon thewhich playerthey can access their account, along withand any saved game progress and player stats. Often, MMOs usedoften use game servers where the game instance is played, oftenusually with more computing power than other servers in a data center, and is capable of accessing the non-changing world data from a static web server and real-time data from a dynamic web server. These databases hold different databasesstore storing everythinginformation—everything from player'splayers' login data, loot, health, and latest progress. It also feedsData theare datafed to the game server, thatwhich will determine outcomes and rankings. Often a final piece of these infrastructures is a payment server protected by several firewalls, for thesecure payment of initial game access toand in-game purchases, often protected by several firewalls.

Often gameGame developers do notrarely care about cheating in a single-player game, because, as a single-player game, the actions of the cheater do not affect anyone except the game experience of the cheater. However, in MMOs, cheating can be a problem, as they often have competitive scenarios in which cheating can give the player a competitive advantage and ruin the game experience for other players. One of the first ways for developers to deal with the problem of cheating is to never trust ththe eplayerplayer. This is made easier when the game takes place in a central server under the developers' control, creating an authoritative server whichthat gives the server full authority over the game playgameplay.

The authoritative server is not a perfect solution, but it can prevent a wide range of cheating, such as a local copy of the value that tells the player it has 1000% percent health, while the server knows it has 10% percent, and the player will die when attacked regardless of what the client may think. As wellThird-party, there are several third party anti-cheat software whichoptions can be required for players toor entire game types. However, however these can slow down gameplay at times and have been criticized by players.

Before MMOs, there were MUDsmulti-user dungeons, or multi-user dungeonsMUDs. During the 1970s, these were fairly primitive text-based games that offered multiplayer play and ran on early internet servers. Most MUDs were role-playing games with mechanics similar to the popular tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons. As noted above, these early games ran on personal computers with internet access. And evenEven as the MMOs became more sophisticated, it would take ready internet access for game consoles and mobile phones before they would create new areas for game developers to develop MMOs.

Launched in 1997, this game is considered the grandfather of modern MMOs, being one of the first 3D MMOMMOs that went beyond the text-based MUDs. The game became a popular success, allowing players to play different classes, including warriors, thieves, and merchants, or more. And theThe game inspired a sense of community without the tools whichthat have become ubiquitous to allow players to communicate. However, in teh game, players could steal, cheat, and kill each other, and, over time, reputations were formed in the game whichthat resulted in heroes, villains, and everyone caught in-betweenin between.

Launched in 1999 by John Smedly, EverQuestEverQuest was inspired by the earlier MUDs, and used 3D graphics to bring the game's fantasy world of Norrath to life. Though the game had modest expectations, it became the most populatpopular MMO of the decade, and would go on to release twenty-two expansion packs. The game featuredfeatures 16sixteen different races and classes, and allowedallows players to be anything from frog necromancers to ogre shamans. Many of the ideas of the game would late become archetypes of the genre, such as teaming up with friends to raid dungeons and kill bosses.

EverQuestEverQuest was alsois a difficult and obtuse game whichthat requiredrequires the player's patience and persistence. Little wasis explained, and death meantmeans losing valuable equipment and experience points. However, this atmosphere motivatedmotivates people to invest in the exploration of Norrath. Some have suggested EverQuest EverQuest was the game to popularize grinding (the act of repeatedly killing monsters for experience points). At the time, grinding seemed exciting, and required players to play with others to kill monsters and level uplevel-up their characters. This was the only real method to level uplevel-up a character, and through collaborative play, EverQuestEverQuest has inspired relationships developed by players growing and surviving together.

Before AnarchAnarchy Online Online, most MMOs followed the successes and were developed around fantasy worlds. Instead of a fantasy world, Norwegian studio Funcom, instead of a fantasy world, placed their game on the distant planet of Rubi-Ka, full of megacorporations and separatists whichthat fought for control of the planet's resources, exchanging magic and swords for nanotech and guns. Besides the thematic changes, Anarchy OnlineAnarchy Online has also offered some technical innovations. Instead of the quests being rigid, they featuredfeature a dynamic system allowing players to tailor combat encounters based on their needs. These quests also popularized "instancing," which segregates a group of players to their own isolated version of a zone,. whichInstancing is used often in modern MMOs.

Launched in 2001, the Dark Age of Camelot Dark Age of Camelot took the act of killing present in other MMOs to a new level. This changed the short-sighted killing for stuff into a a kind of killing whichthat became a contest between players, including teamwork, strategy, and glory for the winners. This inspired all-out war through a structured form of player combat known as "realm versus realm." The game laid the groundwork for new kinds of player vs player (PVP) gameplay. In the game, three factions battle for control of various zones, establishing outposts that would have to be protected from the opposing forces.

At the time of its release, the player-driven battles were new and unparalleled in scope, creating drama from the conflict themselves. Besides the new type of combat, Dark Age of Camelot Dark Age of Camelot also featured 47forty-seven different classes, each unique to a faction whichthat drew from Arthurian lore. And, with eachEach class was designed to excel in a specific role, eachand class dependsdepended on others to offset its weakness, creatingwhich created a game wherein which the players meshing their classes together well creatingcreated strength. thatThis format would be repeated in later MMOs.

Launched in 2002, Final Fantasy XI Final Fantasy XI became one of the first MMOs of the franchise, which expanded on the character classes by offering a nuanced and robust system offering players a new job system and classif Final FantasyFinal Fantasy classes, such as White Mages, Dark Knights, and Dragoons. In the game, a player chooses one of the 22twenty-two jobs, a primary class, and a secondary job, which grants the player access to half of the job's spells, creating a deal of diversity, and enabling the use of specific game mechanics.

However, players can make bad class combinations, which require a player to restart; but the game also allows players to make bad class combinations, which requires a player to restart, but the game allowed the player to do so without losing the progress on their previous jobs. ThisRestarting while keeping progress has been a mechanic whichthat has not been repeated in other MMOs of the same style, which often require a player to create a new character, and thereby start at the beginning, and have to repeat many of the same quests.

EVE Online EVE Online is an MMO whichlaunched in 2003 that some feel could have a few more elements stolen from the gameit. It offeredoffers a space-faring sandbox, which actedacts as a social experiment. EVE Online EVE Online encouragedencourages players to make their own objectives and tell their own stories. Often, this would result in a chronicle of war and violence. The game wasis anchored in a player-driven economy, offeringwith a diverse ecosystem of industrialists, merchants, criminals, and soldiers coexisting together. However, beyond tehthe safety of high-security space, the game became a massive ecosystem of player alliances moving the weight of actual nations, and when the alliances clash, they createdcreate momentous conflicts. Though the game was veryis intimidating, it allowedallows a new player to rise through the ranks, and gain respect, and fame through playing.

Launched in 2002, Second LifeSecond Life asks the question ifquestion—if a player could live their life without limits, how would they live it? Often, almost entirely, the game allowedallows players to explore sexual subcultures. The game had none of the progression or development of other MMOs. Instead, players can engage in their fantasy of living a different life. And then, since Since there is no objective, the game gavegives players tools to create their own fun, which, for the majority of players, wasis exploring a side of their sexuality that would be impossible in real life. And thisThis MMO wasis different, asbecause rather than asking its players to participate in a fantasy, Second LifeSecond Life allowedallows players to bend the MMO to bend to their imagination.

No other MMO has had the level of success or impact ofas World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft, which was developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It has presented a pop culture phenomenon as much as an MMO videogame. The game was released in 2004 and was successful enough to transform the genre, steering it away from innovation and largely towards imitation, in hopes of recreating the success of the game. If Blizzard was capable of turning the RTS game into a successful MMO, then developers figured they could take other game properties and do the same.

However, Blizzard put two decades of innovation into a single game. And while other MMOs were better at specific game assets, such as PVP, but none werehad as strong of a whole package as World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft. World of Warcraft World of Warcraft also made the genre accessible by removing a lotmany of the barriers and difficulties of earlier MMOs, giving players a start where they could quickly go through a couple of dungeons and feel as if they could accomplish something. The start would be criticized for removing the sense of tension earlier MMOs had, but remained successful because of its ability to ease players into the game.

One of the more popular and enduring MMOs, MinecraftMinecraft was first made public in 2009 before it was fully launched in 2011. The game was different than other games, requiring players to gather resources in order to build structures while also being a survival game. Players hadprogress through the game through an achievement system, and they have to survive hostile mobs, and other dangers while exploring the vast world and its dangers. The resources a player collects further allowsallow them to craft new materials and help playersthem survive longer and craft more materials. Minecraft was also an MMO that began as a small indie game, and would go on to become one of the biggest games in the world. It played on a similar or greater level of popularity as World of Warcraft, and showed that MMO could go in many different genres and places. As well, players progressed through the game through an achievement system.

Minecraft was also an MMO that began as a small indie game, and it would go on to become one of the biggest games in the world. It has been played at a similar or greater level of popularity as World of Warcraft and has shown that MMOs can go in many different genres and places.

The Elder Scrolls OnlineThe Elder Scrolls Online was launched in 2014 as an attempt to unite game fans of game from the Elder ScrollsElder Scrolls universe, (Skyrim,) and MMOs,. butIt was not popular upon release, with many feeling like it was unfinished. It offeredoffers a flexible class system, and quests were hampered by technical issues and a narrow storyline, which funneled players to locations rather than encouraging exploration. However, fundamental changes were made to the game, the subscription model was removed, and the endgame was redesigned to offer more diverse activities, while further updates removed level restrictions, offering a more open-world feel to the game. Following this were more expansions that added new ideas, such as thieving, and it would become one of the most robust MMOs available.

Launched in 2017, ForniteFornite was another MMO to find the kind of pop culture ubiquity and success of World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft and MinecraftMinecraft. This game built on the more modest success of an earlier MMO battleroyalebattle royale game, PUBGPUBG, but it eschewed the more realistic and grounded art style of PUBGPUBG in favor of a more cartoonish art style with more cartoonish violence that made the game more accessible to players of all age ranges. FortniteFortnite also introduced the concept of game seasons inand Battle Passes for each season, offering players an assortment of in-game cosmetics and emotes, which makes the game, a lot of its andmoney. Players who have purchased a Battle Pass earn V-Bucks, an in-game currency that can be put towards the purchase of next season's for each of the season of the game, which offers players an assortment of in-game cosmetics and emotes where the game makes a lot of its money. And, players who have purchased a Battle Pass earn V-Bucks, an in-game currency which can be put towards the purchase of next seasons Battle Pass.

Further,Much of the success of the game has been its availability. It can be played on a lot of the success of the game has been its availability. It can be played on computer, on game consoles, and on mobile phones. This brought more players into the ForniteFornite world. Further, the game developers have changedchange the game map between seasons, changedchange weapons used in tehthe games, and mademake tweaks to various locations throughover time. This has brought players back as the changing world and refreshes the game for those who leave. Companies have also launched new productsmerchandise, trailers, orand sneak-peaks in ForniteFornite, and virtual concerts have been held in the game as well.

Other games whichthat have reached around thousands, or in some case millions, of concurrent players at one point in their history, and have in one or more casecases defined the development of MMOs, include the following:

• Club Penguin
• DC Universe Online
• Final Fantasy XIV
• RuneScape
• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• The Sims Online
• World of Tanks
• World War II Online

• Club Penguin
• DC Universe Online
• Final Fantasy XIV
• RuneScape
• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• The Sims Online
• World of Tanks
• World War II Online

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) are online games with large numbers of players, typically from hundreds to thousands of concurrent players, often on the same server. These game types usually feature huge, persistent worlds, also known as "open" worlds as the player is, generally, allowed to go in any direction they wish, regardless of the direction they are given, although the world varies based on the game. These games often include virtual in-game currencies which allow players to purchase items in the game. And feature complex social arrangements, which, dependent on the game, can include guilds, tribes, or teams; and to facilitate collaborative play will include various tools, such as live-audio feeds or online chats.

MMOs require an internet or network connection, meaning for a long period they could only be played on computers. Although, as game consoles began to include internet connections, MMOs have extended to consoles. And as mobile phones have increased in complexity, mobile-based MMOs have also increased in popularity. These games are further characterized by emphasizing multiplayer gameplay, with very few of them having any significant single-player aspect or client-side artificial intelligence. Because of this, many MMOs are not "beatable" in the way many single-player games are, but rather often evolve and provide different tools and aspects through development and expansion games to keep players interested.

Although MMOs are considered, in themselves, a genre of video games, the MMO is better understood as a different way of playing a game. Rather than playing a single-player, non-connected, game, which could have a multiplayer of up to 50 players (often connnected over local area networks [LAN]); MMOs offer similar game genres in an MMOs style. Meaning, instead of a role-playing game (RPG) where the player interacts with artificially intelligent non-player characters (NPCs), while playing an MMO RPG they interact mostly with other players, and the necessary NPCs, such as vendors or quest-givers, to complete the experience. Other types of MMOs include:

• MMO Role Playing Games (MMORPG)
• MMO Battle Arena (MMOBA)
• MMO Real Time Strategy Games (MMORTS)
• MMO First Person Shooter Games (MMOFPS)
• MMO Sports Games
• MMO Racing Games
• MMO Social Games
• MMO Puzzle Games
• MMO Alternate Reality Games
• MMO Turn-based Strategy Games
• MMO Simulation Games

The strong social aspect of MMOs suggest they can be a kind of social media, or online communication tool. Often players form friendships, create communities, and work together to accomplish a variety of communial and solo goals. This suggests that players can learn lessons in MMOs aroud effective and efficient communication, team building, and leadership skills, which can be transferred to real-world scenarios. Studies conducted into the possible positive effects of MMOs, especially in light of the dearth of positive research around video games, found a significant positive relationship between playing MMOs, with their strong social and collaborative gameplay, on social well-being, irrespective of the player's age or their gaming pattern, such as casusal gaming patterns versus immersed gaming patterns.

Example of the game infrastructure of MMOs.

Behind an MMO, there is a lot at work. The game itself is hosted on one or more cloud data center, which can be located around the world and, when a player connects, they access the closest data center instance near them which works to improve their game experience by offering the lowest ping, or fastest response, time. When a player connects, they go through a firewall designed to monitor and control user traffic, defending the cloud data center from threats and thwart illegal access. Gaming traffic moves through a load balancer which determines where th eplayer resides to ensure the consistent performance of a game for all players.

Once connect, gamers log into their account through a login server where the player can access their account, along with any saved game progress and player stats. Often, MMOs used game servers where the game instance is played, often with more computing power than other servers in a data center, and is capable of accessing the non-changing world data from a static web server and real-time data from a dynamic web server. These databases hold different databases storing everything from player's login data, loot, health, and latest progress. It also feeds the data to the game server that will determine outcomes and rankings. Often a final piece of these infrastructures is a payment server for the payment of initial game access to in-game purchases, often protected by several firewalls.

Often game developers do not care about cheating in a game, because, as a single-player game, the actions of the cheater do not affect anyone except the game experience of the cheater. However, in MMOs, cheating can be a problem, as they often have competitive scenarios in which cheating can give the player a competitive advantage and ruin the game experience for other players. One of the first ways for developers to deal with the problem of cheating is to never trust th eplayer. This is made easier when the game takes place in a central server under the developers control, creating an authoritative server which gives the server full authority over the game play.

Example of MMO anti-cheat software.

The authoritative server is not a perfect solution, but it can prevent a wide range of cheating, such as a local copy of the value that tells the player it has 1000% health, while the server knows it has 10% and the player will die when attacked regardless of what the client may think. As well, there are several third party anti-cheat software which can be required for players to entire game types, however these can slow down gameplay at times and have been criticized by players.

Before MMOs, there were MUDs, or multi-user dungeons. During the 1970s, these were fairly primitive text-based games that offered multiplayer play and ran on early internet servers. Most MUDs were role-playing games with mechanics similar to the popular tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons. As noted above, these early games ran on personal computers with internet access. And even as the MMOs became more sophisticated, it would take ready internet access for game consoles and mobile phones before they would create new areas for game developers to develop MMOs.

Gameplay from MMO Ultima Online.

Launched in 1997, this game is considered the grandfather of modern MMOs, being one of the first 3D MMO that went beyond the text-based MUDs. The game became a popular success, allowing players to play different classes including warriors, thieves, merchants, or more. And the game inspired a sense of community without the tools which have become ubiquitous to allow players to communicate. However, in teh game, players could steal, cheat, and kill each other, and, over time, reputations were formed in the game which resulted in heroes, villains, and everyone caught in-between.

Launched in 1999 by John Smedly, EverQuest was inspired by the earlier MUDs, and used 3D graphics to bring the fantasy world of Norrath to life. Though the game had modest expectations, it became the most populat MMO of the decade, and would go on to release twenty-two expansion packs. The game featured 16 different races and classes, and allowed players to be anything from frog necromancers to ogre shamans. Many of the ideas of the game would late become archetypes of the genre, such as teaming up with friends to raid dungeons and kill bosses.

Gameplay from EverQuest.

EverQuest was also a difficult and obtuse game which required the player's patience and persistence. Little was explained, and death meant losing valuable equipment and experience points. However, this atmosphere motivated people to invest in the exploration of Norrath. Some have suggested EverQuest was the game to popularize grinding (the act of repeatedly killing monsters for experience points). At the time grinding seemed exciting, and required players to play with others to kill monsters and level up their characters. This was the only real method to level up a character, and through collaborative play, EverQuest inspired relationships developed by players growing and surviving together.

Gameplay from Anarchy Online.

Before Anarch Online, most MMOs followed the successes and were developed around fantasy worlds. Norwegian studio Funcom, instead of a fantasy world, placed their game on the distant planet of Rubi-Ka, full of megacorporations and separatists which fought for control of the planet's resources, exchanging magic and swords for nanotech and guns. Besides the thematic changes, Anarchy Online also offered some technical innovations. Instead of the quests being rigid, they featured a dynamic system allowing players to tailor combat encounters based on their needs. These quests also popularized "instancing" which segregates a group of players to their own isolated version of a zone, which is used often in modern MMOs.

Launched in 2001, the Dark Age of Camelot took the act of killing present in other MMOs to a new level. This changed the short-sighted killing for stuff into a a kind of killing which became a contest between players, including teamwork, strategy, and glory for the winners. This inspired all-out war through a structured form of player combat known as "realm versus realm." The game laid the groundwork for new kinds of PVP gameplay. In the game, three factions battle for control of various zones, establishing outposts that would have to be protected from the opposing forces.

Dark Age of Camelot gameplay.

At the time of its release, the player-driven battles were new and unparalleled in scope, creating drama from the conflict themselves. Besides the new type of combat, Dark Age of Camelot also featured 47 different classes, each unique to a faction which drew from Arthurian lore. And, with each class designed to excel in a specific role, each class depends on others to offset its weakness, creating a game where the players meshing their classes together well creating strength that would be repeated in later MMOs.

Final Fantasy XI gameplay.

Launched in 2002, Final Fantasy XI became one of the first MMOs of the franchise which expanded on the character classes by offering a nuanced and robust system offering players a new job system and classif Final Fantasy classes such as White Mages, Dark Knights, and Dragoons. In the game, a player chooses one of the 22 jobs, a primary class, and a secondary job, which grants the player access to half of the job's spells, creating a deal of diversity, and enabling the use of specific game mechanics.

However, the game also allows players to make bad class combinations, which requires a player to restart, but the game allowed the player to do so without losing the progress on their previous jobs. This has been a mechanic which has not been repeated in other MMOs of the same style, which often require a player to create a new character, and thereby start at the beginning and have to repeat many of the same quests.

Gameplay from EVE Online.

EVE Online is an MMO which some feel could have a few more elements stolen from the game. It offered a space-faring sandbox which acted as a social experiment. EVE Online encouraged players to make their own objectives and tell their own stories. Often, this would result a chronicle of war and violence. The game was anchored in a player-driven economy, offering a diverse ecosystem of industrialists, merchants, criminals, and soldiers coexisting together. However, beyond teh safety of high-security space, the game became a massive ecosystem of player alliances moving the weight of actual nations, and when the alliances clash they created momentous conflicts. Though the game was very intimidating, it allowed a new player to rise through the ranks, respect, and fame through playing.

Gameplay example from Second Life.

Second Life asks the question if a player could live their life without limits, how would they live it? Often, almost entirely, the game allowed players to explore sexual subcultures. The game had none of the progression or development of other MMOs. Instead players can engage in their fantasy of living a different life. And then, since there is no objective, the game gave players tools to create their own fun, which, for the majority of players, was exploring a side of their sexuality that would be impossible in real life. And this MMO was different, as rather than asking its players to participate in a fantasy, Second Life allowed players to bend the MMO to bend to their imagination.

No MMO had the success or impact of World of Warcraft. It presented a pop culture phenomenon as much as an MMO videogame. The game was released in 2004 and was successful enough to transform the genre, steering it away from innovation and largely towards imitation in hopes of recreating the success of the game. If Blizzard was capable of turning the RTS game into a successful MMO, then developers figured they could take other game properties and do the same.

World of Warcraft gameplay.

However, Blizzard put two decades of innovation into a single game. And while other MMOs were better at specific game assets, such as PVP, but none were as strong of a whole package as World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft also made the genre accessible by removing a lot of the barriers and difficulties of earlier MMOs, giving players a start where they could quickly go through a couple of dungeons and feel as if they could accomplish something. The start would be criticized for removing the sense of tension earlier MMOs had, but remained successful because of its ability to ease players into the game.

Minecraft gameplay.

One of the more popular and enduring MMOs, Minecraft was first made public in 2009 before it was fully launched in 2011. The game was different than other games, requiring players to gather resources in order to build structures while also being a survival game. Players had to survive hostile mobs, and other dangers while exploring the vast world and its dangers. The resources a player collects further allows them to craft new materials and help players survive longer and craft more materials. Minecraft was also an MMO that began as a small indie game, and would go on to become one of the biggest games in the world. It played on a similar or greater level of popularity as World of Warcraft, and showed that MMO could go in many different genres and places. As well, players progressed through the game through an achievement system.

The Elder Scrolls Online was launched in 2014 as an attempt to unite fans of game from the Elder Scrolls universe, Skyrim, and MMOs, but was not popular upon release, with many feeling like it was unfinished. It offered a flexible class system, and quests hampered by technical issues and a narrow storyline which funneled players to locations rather than encouraging exploration. However, fundamental changes were made to the game, the subscription model was removed, and the endgame was redesigned to offer more diverse activities, while further updates removed level restrictions, offering a more open-world feel to the game. Following this were more expansions that added new ideas, such as thieving, and it would become one of the most robust MMOs available.

Launched in 2017, Fornite was another MMO to find the kind of pop culture ubiquity and success of World of Warcraft and Minecraft. This game built on the more modest success of earlier MMO battleroyale game PUBG, but it eschewed the more realistic and grounded art style of PUBG in favor of a more cartoonish art style with more cartoonish violence that made the game more accessible to players of all age ranges. Fortnite also introduced the concept of seasons in the game, and Battle Pass's for each of the season of the game, which offers players an assortment of in-game cosmetics and emotes where the game makes a lot of its money. And, players who have purchased a Battle Pass earn V-Bucks, an in-game currency which can be put towards the purchase of next seasons Battle Pass.

Further, a lot of the success of the game has been its availability. It can be played on computer, on game consoles, and on mobile phones. This brought more players into the Fornite world. Further, the game developers have changed the game map between seasons, changed weapons used in teh games, and made tweaks to various locations through time. This has brought players back as the changing world refreshes the game for those who leave. Companies have also launched new products, trailers, or sneak-peaks in Fornite, and virtual concerts have been held in the game as well.

Other games which have reached around thousands, or in some case millions, of concurrent players at one point in their history, and have in one or more case defined the development of MMOs, include:

• Club Penguin
• DC Universe Online
• Final Fantasy XIV
• RuneScape
• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• The Sims Online
• World of Tanks
• World War II Online

A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG, or more commonly, MMO) is an online game with large numbers of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games that differ. These games can be found for most network-capable platforms, including the personal computer, video game console, or smartphones and other mobile devices.

MMOs can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other on a large scale, and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world. They include a variety of gameplay types, representing many video game genres.

History

The most popular type of MMOG, and the subgenre that pioneered the category, is the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), which descended from university mainframe computer MUD and adventure games such as Rogue and Dungeon on the PDP-10. These games predate the commercial gaming industry and the Internet, but still featured persistent worlds and other elements of MMOGs still used today.

The first graphical MMOG, and a major milestone in the creation of the genre, was the multiplayer flight combat simulation game Air Warrior by Kesmai on the GEnie online service, which first appeared in 1986. Kesmai later added 3D graphics to the game, making it the first 3D MMO.

Commercial MMORPGs gained acceptance in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The genre was pioneered by the GemStone series on GEnie, also created by Kesmai, and Neverwinter Nights, the first such game to include graphics, which debuted on AOL in 1991.

As video game developers applied MMOG ideas to other computer and video game genres, new acronyms started to develop, such as MMORTS. MMOG emerged as a generic term to cover this growing class of games.

The debuts of The Realm Online, Meridian 59 (the first 3D MMORPG), Castle Infinity (the first kid-focused MMORPG),Ultima Online, Underlight and EverQuest in the late 1990s popularized the MMORPG genre. The growth in technology meant that where Neverwinter Nights in 1991 had been limited to 50 simultaneous players (a number that grew to 500 by 1995), by the year 2000 a multitude of MMORPGs was each serving thousands of simultaneous players and led the way for games such as World of Warcraft and EVE Online.

Despite the genre's focus on multiplayer gaming, AI-controlled characters are still common. NPCs and mobs who give out quests or serve as opponents are typical in MMORPGs. AI-controlled characters are not as common in action-based MMOGs.

The popularity of MMOGs was mostly restricted to the computer game market until the sixth-generation consoles, with the launch of Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast and the emergence and growth of online service Xbox Live. There have been a number of console MMOGs, including EverQuest Online Adventures (PlayStation 2), and the multiconsole Final Fantasy XI. On PCs, the MMOG market has always been dominated by successful fantasy MMORPGs.

MMOGs have only recently[when?] begun to break into the mobile phone market. The first, Samurai Romanesque set in feudal Japan, was released in 2001 on NTT DoCoMo's iMode network in Japan. More recent developments are CipSoft's TibiaME and Biting Bit's MicroMonster which features online and bluetooth multiplayer gaming. SmartCell Technology is in development of Shadow of Legend, which will allow gamers to continue their game on their mobile device when away from their PC.

Science fiction has also been a popular theme, featuring games such as Mankind, Anarchy Online, Eve Online, Star Wars Galaxies and The Matrix Online.

MMOGs emerged from the hard-core gamer community to the mainstream strongly in December 2003 with an analysis in the Financial Times measuring the value of the virtual property in the then-largest MMOG, EverQuest, to result in a per-capita GDP of 2,266 dollars which would have placed the virtual world of EverQuest as the 77th wealthiest nation, on par with Croatia, Ecuador, Tunisia or Vietnam.

World of Warcraft is a dominant MMOG with 8-9 million monthly subscribers worldwide. The subscriber base dropped by 1 million after the expansion Wrath of the Lich King, bringing it to 9 million subscribers in 2010, though it remained the most popular Western title among MMOGs. In 2008, Western consumer spending on World of Warcraft represented a 58% share of the subscription MMOG market in 2009. The title has generated over $2.2 billion in cumulative consumer spending on subscriptions from 2005 through 2009.

Virtual economies

Within a majority of the MMOGs created, there is virtual currency where the player can earn and accumulate money. The uses for such virtual currency are numerous and vary from game to game. The virtual economies created within MMOGs often blur the lines between real and virtual worlds. The result is often seen as an unwanted interaction between the real and virtual economies by the players and the provider of the virtual world. This practice (economy interaction) is mostly seen in this genre of games. The two seem to come hand in hand with even the earliest MMOGs such as Ultima Online having this kind of trade, real money for virtual things.

The importance of having a working virtual economy within an MMOG is increasing as they develop. A sign of this is CCP Games hiring the first real-life economist for its MMOG Eve Online to assist and analyze the virtual economy and production within this game.

The results of this interaction between the virtual economy, and our real economy, which is really the interaction between the company that created the game and the third-party companies that want a share of the profits and success of the game. This battle between companies is defended on both sides. The company originating the game and the intellectual property argue that this is in violation of the terms and agreements of the game as well as copyright violation since they own the rights to how the online currency is distributed and through what channels. The case that the third-party companies and their customers defend, is that they are selling and exchanging the time and effort put into the acquisition of the currency, not the digital information itself. They also express that the nature of many MMOGs is that they require time commitments not available to everyone. As a result, without external acquisition of virtual currency, some players are severely limited to being able to experience certain aspects of the game.

The practice of acquiring large volumes of virtual currency for the purpose of selling to other individuals for tangible and real currency is called gold farming. Many players who have poured in all of their personal effort resent that there is this exchange between real and virtual economies since it devalues their own efforts. As a result, the term 'gold farmer' now has a very negative connotation within the games and their communities. This slander has unfortunately also extended itself to racial profiling and to in-game and forum insulting.

The reaction from many of the game companies varies. In games that are substantially less popular and have a small player base, the enforcement of the elimination of 'gold farming' appears less often. Companies in this situation most likely are concerned with their personal sales and subscription revenue over the development of their virtual economy, as they most likely have a higher priority to the games viability via adequate funding. Games with an enormous player base, and consequently much higher sales and subscription income, can take more drastic actions more often and in much larger volumes. This account banning could also serve as an economic gain for these large games, since it is highly likely that, due to demand, these 'gold farming' accounts will be recreated with freshly bought copies of the game.

The virtual goods revenue from online games and social networking exceeded US$7 billion in 2010.

In 2011, it was estimated that up to 100,000 people in China and Vietnam are playing online games to gather gold and other items for sale to Western players. While this 'gold farming' is considered to ruin the game for actual players, many rely on 'gold farming' as their main source of income.

However single player in MMOs is quite viable, especially in what is called 'player vs environment' gameplay. This may result in the player being unable to experience all content, as many of the most significant and potentially rewarding game experiences are events that require large and coordinated teams to complete.

Technical aspect

Most MMOGs also share other characteristics that make them different from other multiplayer online games. MMOGs host many players in a single game world, and all of those players can interact with each other at any given time. Popular MMOGs might have thousands of players online at any given time, usually on company-owned servers. Non-MMOGs, such as Battlefield 1942 or Half-Life usually have fewer than 50 players online (per server) and are usually played on private servers. Also, MMOGs usually do not have any significant mods since the game must work on company servers. There is some debate if a high head-count is a requirement to be an MMOG. Some say that it is the size of the game world and its capability to support many players that should matter. For example, despite technology and content constraints, most MMOGs can fit up to a few thousand players on a single game server at a time.

To support all those players, MMOGs need large-scale game worlds, and servers to connect players to those worlds. Some games have all of their servers connected so all players are connected in a shared universe. Others have copies of their starting game world put on different servers, called "shards", for a sharded universe. Shards got their name from Ultima Online, where in the story, the shards of Mondain's gem created the duplicate worlds.

Still, others will only use one part of the universe at any time. For example, Tribes (which is not an MMOG) comes with a number of large maps, which are played in rotation (one at a time). In contrast, the similar title PlanetSide allows all map-like areas of the game to be reached via flying, driving, or teleporting.

MMORPGs usually have sharded universes, as they provide the most flexible solution to the server load problem, but not always. For example, the space simulation Eve Online uses only one large cluster server peaking at over 60,000 simultaneous players.

It is challenging to develop the database engines that are needed to run a successful MMOG with millions of players. Many developers have created their own, but attempts have been made to create middleware, software that would help game developers concentrate on their games more than technical aspects. One such piece of middleware is called BigWorld.

An early, successful entry into the field was VR-1 Entertainment whose Conductor platform was adopted and endorsed by a variety of service providers around the world including Sony Communications Network in Japan; the Bertelsmann Game Channel in Germany; British Telecom's Wireplay in England; and DACOM and Samsung SDS in South Korea.[8] Games that were powered by the Conductor platform included Fighter Wing, Air Attack, Fighter Ace, Evernight, Hasbro Em@ail Games (Clue, NASCAR and Soccer), Towers of Fallow, The SARAC Project, VR1 Crossroads and Rumble in the Void.

Typical MUDs and other predecessor games were limited to about 64 or 256 simultaneous player connections; this was a limit imposed by the underlying operating system, which was usually Unix-like. One of the biggest problems with modern engines has been handling the vast number of players. Since a typical server can handle around 10,000–12,000 players, 4000–5000 active simultaneously, dividing the game into several servers has up until now been the solution. This approach has also helped with technical issues, such as lag, that many players experience. Another difficulty, especially relevant to real-time simulation games, is time synchronization across hundreds or thousands of players. Many games rely on time synchronization to drive their physics simulation as well as their scoring and damage detection.

Although there is no specific limit to where an online multiplayer online game is considered massive, there are broad features that are often used as a metric. Garriott's famed 1997 definition referred to the fundamental architecture shift required to support tens of thousands of concurrent players, which required shifting from individual servers to data centers on multiple continents. Games may have MMO features like large worlds with online persistence but still not generally be considered an MMO, such as Grand Theft Auto V's online play, while other games like League of Legends have small individual sessions but the global infrastructure requirements often allow for classification as an MMO. The term is often used differently by players who tend to refer to their play experience versus game developers who refer to the engineering experience. MMO game developers tend to require tremendous investments in developing and maintaining servers around the globe, network bandwidth infrastructure often on the order of terabytes per second, and large engineering problems relating to managing data spread between multiple computer clusters.

Game types

There are several types of massively multiplayer online games.

Role-playing

Main article: Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

See also: List of MMORPGs

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, known as MMORPGs, are the most common type of MMOG. Some MMORPGs are designed as a multiplayer browser game in order to reduce infrastructure costs and utilise a thin client that most users will already have installed. The acronym BBMMORPGs has sometimes been used to describe these as browser-based.

Bulletin board role-playing games

Many games are categorized as MMOBBGs, Massively Multiplayer Online Bulletin Board Games, also called MMOBBRPGs. These particular types of games are primarily made up of text and descriptions, although images are often used to enhance the game.

First-person shooter

Main article: Massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game

See also: List of MMOFPSs

MMOFPS is an online gaming genre which features many simultaneous players in a first-person shooter fashion. These games provide large-scale, sometimes team-based combat. The addition of persistence in the game world means that these games add elements typically found in RPGs, such as experience points. However, MMOFPS games emphasize player skill more than player statistics, as no number of in-game bonuses will compensate for a player's inability to aim and think tactically.

Real-time strategy

Main article: Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game

See also: List of MMORTSs

Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy games, also known as "MMORTS", combine real-time strategy (RTS) with a persistent world. Players often assume the role of a general, king, or other types of figurehead leading an army into battle while maintaining the resources needed for such warfare. The titles are often based in a sci-fi or fantasy universe and are distinguished from single or small-scale multiplayer RTSes by the number of players and common use of a persistent world, generally hosted by the game's publisher, which continues to evolve even when the player is offline.

Turn-based strategy

See also: List of MMOTBSs

Steve Jackson Games' UltraCorps is an example of an MMO turn-based strategy game. Hundreds of players share the same playing field of conquest. In a "mega" game, each turn fleets are built and launched to expand one's personal empire. Turns are usually time-based, with a "tick" schedule usually daily. All orders are processed, and battles resolved, at the same time during the tick. Similarly, in Darkwind: War on Wheels, vehicle driving and combat orders are submitted simultaneously by all players and a "tick" occurs typically once per 30 seconds. This allows each player to accurately control multiple vehicles and pedestrians in racing or combat.

Simulations

Some MMOGs have been designed to accurately simulate certain aspects of the real world. They tend to be very specific to industries or activities of very large risk and huge potential loss, such as rocket science, airplanes, trucks, battle tanks, submarines etc. Gradually as simulation technology is getting more mainstream, so too various simulators arrive into more mundane industries.

The initial goal of World War II Online was to create a map (in northwestern Europe) that had real-world physics (gravity, air/water resistance, etc.), and ability for players to have some strategic abilities to its basic FPS/RPG role. While the current version is not quite a true simulated world, it is very complex and contains a large persistent world.

The MMOG genre of air traffic simulation is one example, with networks such as VATSIM and IVAO striving to provide rigorously authentic flight-simulation environments to players in both pilot and air traffic controller roles. In this category of MMOGs, the objective is to create duplicates of the real world for people who cannot or do not wish to undertake those experiences in real life. For example, flight simulation via an MMOG requires far less expenditure of time and money, is completely risk-free, and is far less restrictive (fewer regulations to adhere to, no medical exams to pass, and so on).

Another specialist area is the mobile telecoms operator (carrier) business where billion-dollar investments in networks are needed but market shares are won and lost on issues from segmentation to handset subsidies. A specialist simulation was developed by Nokia called Equilibrium/Arbitrage to have over a two-day period five teams of top management of one operator/carrier play a "wargame" against each other, under extremely realistic conditions, with one operator an incumbent fixed and mobile network operator, another a new entrant mobile operator, a third a fixed-line/internet operator, etc. Each team is measured by outperforming their rivals by market expectations of that type of player. Thus each player has drastically different goals, but within the simulation, any one team can win. Also to ensure maximum intensity, only one team can win. Telecoms senior executives who have taken the Equilibrium/Arbitrage simulation say it is the most intense, and most useful training they have ever experienced. It is typical of business use of simulators, in very senior management training/retraining.

Examples of MMO simulation games include World of Tanks, War Thunder, Motor City Online, The Sims Online, and Jumpgate.

Sports

A massively multiplayer online sports game is a title where players can compete in some of the more traditional major league sports, such as football (soccer), basketball, baseball, hockey, golf or American football. According to GameSpot.com, Baseball Mogul Online was "the world's first massively multiplayer online sports game". Other titles that qualify as MMOSG have been around since the early 2000s, but only after 2010 did they start to receive the endorsements of some of the official major league associations and players.

Racing

MMOR means massively multiplayer online racing. Currently there are only a small number of racing-based MMOGs, including iRacing, Kart Rider, Test Drive Unlimited, Project Torque, Drift City and Race or Die. Other notable MMORs included Upshift Strikeracer, Motor City Online and Need for Speed: World, all of which have since shut down. The Trackmania series is the world's largest MMO racing game and holds the world record for "Most Players in a Single Online Race". Although Darkwind: War on Wheels is more combat-based than racing, it is also considered an MMOR.

Casual

Many types of MMO games can be classified as casual, because they are designed to appeal to all computer users (as opposed to subgroup of frequent game buyers), or to fans of another game genre (such as collectible card games). Such games are easy to learn and require a smaller time commitment than other game types. Other popular casual games include simple management games such as The Sims Online or Kung Fu Panda World.

MMORPGs, or massively multiplayer online puzzle games, are based entirely on puzzle elements. They are usually set in a world where the players can access the puzzles around the world. Most games that are MMOPGs are hybrids with other genres. Castle Infinity was the first MMOG developed for children. Its gameplay falls somewhere between puzzle and adventure.

There are also massively multiplayer collectible card games: Alteil, Astral Masters and Astral Tournament. Other MMOCCGs might exist (Neopets has some CCG elements) but are not as well known.

Alternate reality games (ARGs) can be massively multiplayer, allowing thousands of players worldwide to co-operate in puzzle trials and mystery solving. ARGs take place in a unique mixture of online and real-world play that usually does not involve a persistent world, and are not necessarily multiplayer, making them different from MMOGs.

Music/rhythm

Massively multiplayer online music/rhythm games (MMORGs), sometimes called massively multiplayer online dance games (MMODGs), are MMOGs that are also music video games. This idea was influenced by Dance Dance Revolution. Audition Online is another casual massively multiplayer online game and it is produced by T3 Entertainment.

Just Dance 2014 has a game mode called World Dance Floor, which also structures like an MMORPG.

Social

Massively multiplayer online social games (MMOSGs) focus on socialization instead of objective-based gameplay. There is a great deal of overlap in terminology with "online communities" and "virtual worlds". One example that has garnered widespread media attention is Linden Lab's Second Life, emphasizing socializing, worldbuilding and an in-world virtual economy that depends on the sale and purchase of user-created content. It is technically an MMOSG or Casual Multiplayer Online (CMO) by definition, though its stated goal was to realize the concept of the Metaverse from Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash". Instead of being based around combat, one could say that it was based around the creation of virtual objects, including models and scripts. In practice, it has more in common with Club Caribe than EverQuest. It was the first MMO of its kind to achieve widespread success (including attention from mainstream media); however, it was not the first (as Club Caribe was released in 1988). Competitors in this subgenre (non-combat-based MMORPG) include Active Worlds, There, SmallWorlds, Furcadia, Whirled, IMVU and Red Light Center.

Many browser-based Casual MMOs have begun to spring up. This has been made easier because of maturing of Adobe Flash and the popularity of Club Penguin, Growtopia, and The Sims Online.

Combat

Massively multiplayer online combat games are realtime objective, strategy and capture the flag style modes.

Infantry Online is an example multiplayer combat video game with sprite animation graphics, using complex soldier, ground vehicle and space-ship models on typically complex terrains developed by Sony online entertainment.

Research

Some recent attempts to build peer-to-peer (P2P) MMOGs have been made. Outback Online may be the first commercial one, however, so far most of the efforts have been academic studies. A P2P MMOG may potentially be more scalable and cheaper to build, but notable issues with P2P MMOGs include security and consistency control, which can be difficult to address given that clients are easily hacked. Some MMOGs such as Vindictus use P2P networking and client-server networking together.

In April 2004, the United States Army announced that it was developing a massively multiplayer training simulation called AWE (asymmetric warfare environment). The purpose of AWE is to train soldiers for urban warfare and there are no plans for a public commercial release. Forterra Systems is developing it for the Army based on the There engine.

In 2010, Bonnie Nardi published an ethnographic study on World of Warcraft examined with Lev Vygotsky's activity theory.

As the field of MMOs grows larger each year, research has also begun to investigate the socio-informatic bind the games create for their users. In 2006, researchers Constance A. Steinkuehler and Dmitri Williams initiated research on such topics. The topic most intriguing to the pair was to further understand the gameplay, as well as the virtual world serving as a social meeting place, of popular MMOs.

To further explore the effects of social capital and social relationships on MMOs, Steinkuehler and Williams combined conclusions from two different MMO research projects: sociocultural perspective on culture and cognition, and the other on media effects of MMOs. The conclusions of the two studies explained how MMOs function as a new form of a "third place" for informal social interactions much like coffee shops, pubs, and other typical hangouts. Many scholars, however, such as Oldenburg (1999), refute the idea of a MMOs serving as a "third place" due to inadequate bridging social capital. His argument is challenged by Putnam (2000) who concluded that MMOs are well suited for the formation of bridging social capital, tentative relationships that lack in depth, because it is inclusive and serves as a sociological lubricant that is shown across the data collected in both of the research studies.

MMOs can also move past the "lubricant" stage and into the "superglue" stage known as bonding social capital, a closer relationship that is characterized by stronger connections and emotional support. The study concludes that MMOs function best as a bridging mechanism rather than a bonding one, similar to a "third place". Therefore, MMOs have the capacity and the ability to serve as a community that effectively socializes users just like a coffee shop or pub, but conveniently in the comfort of their home.

Spending

British online gamers are outspending their German and French counterparts according to a study commissioned by Gamesindustry.com and TNS. The UK MMO-market is now worth £195 million in 2009 compared to the £165 million and £145 million spent by German and French online gamers.

The US gamers spend more, however, spending about $3.8 billion overall on MMO games. $1.8 billion of that money is spent on monthly subscription fees. The money spent averages out to $15.10 between both subscription and free-to-play MMO gamers. The study also found that 46% of 46 million players in the US pay real money to play MMO games.

Today's Gamers MMO Focus Report, published in March 2010, was commissioned by TNS and gamesindustry.com. A similar study for the UK market-only (UK National Gamers Survey Report) was released in February 2010 by the same groups.

A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG, or more commonly, MMO) is an online game with large numbers of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games that differ. These games can be found for most network-capable platforms, including the personal computer, video game console, or smartphones and other mobile devices.

MMOs can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other on a large scale, and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world. They include a variety of gameplay types, representing many video game genres.

History

The most popular type of MMOG, and the subgenre that pioneered the category, is the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), which descended from university mainframe computer MUD and adventure games such as Rogue and Dungeon on the PDP-10. These games predate the commercial gaming industry and the Internet, but still featured persistent worlds and other elements of MMOGs still used today.

The first graphical MMOG, and a major milestone in the creation of the genre, was the multiplayer flight combat simulation game Air Warrior by Kesmai on the GEnie online service, which first appeared in 1986. Kesmai later added 3D graphics to the game, making it the first 3D MMO.

Commercial MMORPGs gained acceptance in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The genre was pioneered by the GemStone series on GEnie, also created by Kesmai, and Neverwinter Nights, the first such game to include graphics, which debuted on AOL in 1991.

As video game developers applied MMOG ideas to other computer and video game genres, new acronyms started to develop, such as MMORTS. MMOG emerged as a generic term to cover this growing class of games.

The debuts of The Realm Online, Meridian 59 (the first 3D MMORPG), Castle Infinity (the first kid-focused MMORPG),Ultima Online, Underlight and EverQuest in the late 1990s popularized the MMORPG genre. The growth in technology meant that where Neverwinter Nights in 1991 had been limited to 50 simultaneous players (a number that grew to 500 by 1995), by the year 2000 a multitude of MMORPGs was each serving thousands of simultaneous players and led the way for games such as World of Warcraft and EVE Online.

Despite the genre's focus on multiplayer gaming, AI-controlled characters are still common. NPCs and mobs who give out quests or serve as opponents are typical in MMORPGs. AI-controlled characters are not as common in action-based MMOGs.

The popularity of MMOGs was mostly restricted to the computer game market until the sixth-generation consoles, with the launch of Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast and the emergence and growth of online service Xbox Live. There have been a number of console MMOGs, including EverQuest Online Adventures (PlayStation 2), and the multiconsole Final Fantasy XI. On PCs, the MMOG market has always been dominated by successful fantasy MMORPGs.

MMOGs have only recently[when?] begun to break into the mobile phone market. The first, Samurai Romanesque set in feudal Japan, was released in 2001 on NTT DoCoMo's iMode network in Japan. More recent developments are CipSoft's TibiaME and Biting Bit's MicroMonster which features online and bluetooth multiplayer gaming. SmartCell Technology is in development of Shadow of Legend, which will allow gamers to continue their game on their mobile device when away from their PC.

Science fiction has also been a popular theme, featuring games such as Mankind, Anarchy Online, Eve Online, Star Wars Galaxies and The Matrix Online.

MMOGs emerged from the hard-core gamer community to the mainstream strongly in December 2003 with an analysis in the Financial Times measuring the value of the virtual property in the then-largest MMOG, EverQuest, to result in a per-capita GDP of 2,266 dollars which would have placed the virtual world of EverQuest as the 77th wealthiest nation, on par with Croatia, Ecuador, Tunisia or Vietnam.

World of Warcraft is a dominant MMOG with 8-9 million monthly subscribers worldwide. The subscriber base dropped by 1 million after the expansion Wrath of the Lich King, bringing it to 9 million subscribers in 2010, though it remained the most popular Western title among MMOGs. In 2008, Western consumer spending on World of Warcraft represented a 58% share of the subscription MMOG market in 2009. The title has generated over $2.2 billion in cumulative consumer spending on subscriptions from 2005 through 2009.

Virtual economies

Within a majority of the MMOGs created, there is virtual currency where the player can earn and accumulate money. The uses for such virtual currency are numerous and vary from game to game. The virtual economies created within MMOGs often blur the lines between real and virtual worlds. The result is often seen as an unwanted interaction between the real and virtual economies by the players and the provider of the virtual world. This practice (economy interaction) is mostly seen in this genre of games. The two seem to come hand in hand with even the earliest MMOGs such as Ultima Online having this kind of trade, real money for virtual things.

The importance of having a working virtual economy within an MMOG is increasing as they develop. A sign of this is CCP Games hiring the first real-life economist for its MMOG Eve Online to assist and analyze the virtual economy and production within this game.

The results of this interaction between the virtual economy, and our real economy, which is really the interaction between the company that created the game and the third-party companies that want a share of the profits and success of the game. This battle between companies is defended on both sides. The company originating the game and the intellectual property argue that this is in violation of the terms and agreements of the game as well as copyright violation since they own the rights to how the online currency is distributed and through what channels. The case that the third-party companies and their customers defend, is that they are selling and exchanging the time and effort put into the acquisition of the currency, not the digital information itself. They also express that the nature of many MMOGs is that they require time commitments not available to everyone. As a result, without external acquisition of virtual currency, some players are severely limited to being able to experience certain aspects of the game.

The practice of acquiring large volumes of virtual currency for the purpose of selling to other individuals for tangible and real currency is called gold farming. Many players who have poured in all of their personal effort resent that there is this exchange between real and virtual economies since it devalues their own efforts. As a result, the term 'gold farmer' now has a very negative connotation within the games and their communities. This slander has unfortunately also extended itself to racial profiling and to in-game and forum insulting.

The reaction from many of the game companies varies. In games that are substantially less popular and have a small player base, the enforcement of the elimination of 'gold farming' appears less often. Companies in this situation most likely are concerned with their personal sales and subscription revenue over the development of their virtual economy, as they most likely have a higher priority to the games viability via adequate funding. Games with an enormous player base, and consequently much higher sales and subscription income, can take more drastic actions more often and in much larger volumes. This account banning could also serve as an economic gain for these large games, since it is highly likely that, due to demand, these 'gold farming' accounts will be recreated with freshly bought copies of the game.

The virtual goods revenue from online games and social networking exceeded US$7 billion in 2010.

In 2011, it was estimated that up to 100,000 people in China and Vietnam are playing online games to gather gold and other items for sale to Western players. While this 'gold farming' is considered to ruin the game for actual players, many rely on 'gold farming' as their main source of income.

However single player in MMOs is quite viable, especially in what is called 'player vs environment' gameplay. This may result in the player being unable to experience all content, as many of the most significant and potentially rewarding game experiences are events that require large and coordinated teams to complete.

Technical aspect

Most MMOGs also share other characteristics that make them different from other multiplayer online games. MMOGs host many players in a single game world, and all of those players can interact with each other at any given time. Popular MMOGs might have thousands of players online at any given time, usually on company-owned servers. Non-MMOGs, such as Battlefield 1942 or Half-Life usually have fewer than 50 players online (per server) and are usually played on private servers. Also, MMOGs usually do not have any significant mods since the game must work on company servers. There is some debate if a high head-count is a requirement to be an MMOG. Some say that it is the size of the game world and its capability to support many players that should matter. For example, despite technology and content constraints, most MMOGs can fit up to a few thousand players on a single game server at a time.

To support all those players, MMOGs need large-scale game worlds, and servers to connect players to those worlds. Some games have all of their servers connected so all players are connected in a shared universe. Others have copies of their starting game world put on different servers, called "shards", for a sharded universe. Shards got their name from Ultima Online, where in the story, the shards of Mondain's gem created the duplicate worlds.

Still, others will only use one part of the universe at any time. For example, Tribes (which is not an MMOG) comes with a number of large maps, which are played in rotation (one at a time). In contrast, the similar title PlanetSide allows all map-like areas of the game to be reached via flying, driving, or teleporting.

MMORPGs usually have sharded universes, as they provide the most flexible solution to the server load problem, but not always. For example, the space simulation Eve Online uses only one large cluster server peaking at over 60,000 simultaneous players.

It is challenging to develop the database engines that are needed to run a successful MMOG with millions of players. Many developers have created their own, but attempts have been made to create middleware, software that would help game developers concentrate on their games more than technical aspects. One such piece of middleware is called BigWorld.

An early, successful entry into the field was VR-1 Entertainment whose Conductor platform was adopted and endorsed by a variety of service providers around the world including Sony Communications Network in Japan; the Bertelsmann Game Channel in Germany; British Telecom's Wireplay in England; and DACOM and Samsung SDS in South Korea.[8] Games that were powered by the Conductor platform included Fighter Wing, Air Attack, Fighter Ace, Evernight, Hasbro Em@ail Games (Clue, NASCAR and Soccer), Towers of Fallow, The SARAC Project, VR1 Crossroads and Rumble in the Void.

Typical MUDs and other predecessor games were limited to about 64 or 256 simultaneous player connections; this was a limit imposed by the underlying operating system, which was usually Unix-like. One of the biggest problems with modern engines has been handling the vast number of players. Since a typical server can handle around 10,000–12,000 players, 4000–5000 active simultaneously, dividing the game into several servers has up until now been the solution. This approach has also helped with technical issues, such as lag, that many players experience. Another difficulty, especially relevant to real-time simulation games, is time synchronization across hundreds or thousands of players. Many games rely on time synchronization to drive their physics simulation as well as their scoring and damage detection.

Although there is no specific limit to where an online multiplayer online game is considered massive, there are broad features that are often used as a metric. Garriott's famed 1997 definition referred to the fundamental architecture shift required to support tens of thousands of concurrent players, which required shifting from individual servers to data centers on multiple continents. Games may have MMO features like large worlds with online persistence but still not generally be considered an MMO, such as Grand Theft Auto V's online play, while other games like League of Legends have small individual sessions but the global infrastructure requirements often allow for classification as an MMO. The term is often used differently by players who tend to refer to their play experience versus game developers who refer to the engineering experience. MMO game developers tend to require tremendous investments in developing and maintaining servers around the globe, network bandwidth infrastructure often on the order of terabytes per second, and large engineering problems relating to managing data spread between multiple computer clusters.

Game types

There are several types of massively multiplayer online games.

Role-playing

Main article: Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

See also: List of MMORPGs

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, known as MMORPGs, are the most common type of MMOG. Some MMORPGs are designed as a multiplayer browser game in order to reduce infrastructure costs and utilise a thin client that most users will already have installed. The acronym BBMMORPGs has sometimes been used to describe these as browser-based.

Bulletin board role-playing games

Many games are categorized as MMOBBGs, Massively Multiplayer Online Bulletin Board Games, also called MMOBBRPGs. These particular types of games are primarily made up of text and descriptions, although images are often used to enhance the game.

First-person shooter

Main article: Massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game

See also: List of MMOFPSs

MMOFPS is an online gaming genre which features many simultaneous players in a first-person shooter fashion. These games provide large-scale, sometimes team-based combat. The addition of persistence in the game world means that these games add elements typically found in RPGs, such as experience points. However, MMOFPS games emphasize player skill more than player statistics, as no number of in-game bonuses will compensate for a player's inability to aim and think tactically.

Real-time strategy

Main article: Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game

See also: List of MMORTSs

Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy games, also known as "MMORTS", combine real-time strategy (RTS) with a persistent world. Players often assume the role of a general, king, or other types of figurehead leading an army into battle while maintaining the resources needed for such warfare. The titles are often based in a sci-fi or fantasy universe and are distinguished from single or small-scale multiplayer RTSes by the number of players and common use of a persistent world, generally hosted by the game's publisher, which continues to evolve even when the player is offline.

Turn-based strategy

See also: List of MMOTBSs

Steve Jackson Games' UltraCorps is an example of an MMO turn-based strategy game. Hundreds of players share the same playing field of conquest. In a "mega" game, each turn fleets are built and launched to expand one's personal empire. Turns are usually time-based, with a "tick" schedule usually daily. All orders are processed, and battles resolved, at the same time during the tick. Similarly, in Darkwind: War on Wheels, vehicle driving and combat orders are submitted simultaneously by all players and a "tick" occurs typically once per 30 seconds. This allows each player to accurately control multiple vehicles and pedestrians in racing or combat.

Simulations

Some MMOGs have been designed to accurately simulate certain aspects of the real world. They tend to be very specific to industries or activities of very large risk and huge potential loss, such as rocket science, airplanes, trucks, battle tanks, submarines etc. Gradually as simulation technology is getting more mainstream, so too various simulators arrive into more mundane industries.

The initial goal of World War II Online was to create a map (in northwestern Europe) that had real-world physics (gravity, air/water resistance, etc.), and ability for players to have some strategic abilities to its basic FPS/RPG role. While the current version is not quite a true simulated world, it is very complex and contains a large persistent world.

The MMOG genre of air traffic simulation is one example, with networks such as VATSIM and IVAO striving to provide rigorously authentic flight-simulation environments to players in both pilot and air traffic controller roles. In this category of MMOGs, the objective is to create duplicates of the real world for people who cannot or do not wish to undertake those experiences in real life. For example, flight simulation via an MMOG requires far less expenditure of time and money, is completely risk-free, and is far less restrictive (fewer regulations to adhere to, no medical exams to pass, and so on).

Another specialist area is the mobile telecoms operator (carrier) business where billion-dollar investments in networks are needed but market shares are won and lost on issues from segmentation to handset subsidies. A specialist simulation was developed by Nokia called Equilibrium/Arbitrage to have over a two-day period five teams of top management of one operator/carrier play a "wargame" against each other, under extremely realistic conditions, with one operator an incumbent fixed and mobile network operator, another a new entrant mobile operator, a third a fixed-line/internet operator, etc. Each team is measured by outperforming their rivals by market expectations of that type of player. Thus each player has drastically different goals, but within the simulation, any one team can win. Also to ensure maximum intensity, only one team can win. Telecoms senior executives who have taken the Equilibrium/Arbitrage simulation say it is the most intense, and most useful training they have ever experienced. It is typical of business use of simulators, in very senior management training/retraining.

Examples of MMO simulation games include World of Tanks, War Thunder, Motor City Online, The Sims Online, and Jumpgate.

Sports

A massively multiplayer online sports game is a title where players can compete in some of the more traditional major league sports, such as football (soccer), basketball, baseball, hockey, golf or American football. According to GameSpot.com, Baseball Mogul Online was "the world's first massively multiplayer online sports game". Other titles that qualify as MMOSG have been around since the early 2000s, but only after 2010 did they start to receive the endorsements of some of the official major league associations and players.

Racing

MMOR means massively multiplayer online racing. Currently there are only a small number of racing-based MMOGs, including iRacing, Kart Rider, Test Drive Unlimited, Project Torque, Drift City and Race or Die. Other notable MMORs included Upshift Strikeracer, Motor City Online and Need for Speed: World, all of which have since shut down. The Trackmania series is the world's largest MMO racing game and holds the world record for "Most Players in a Single Online Race". Although Darkwind: War on Wheels is more combat-based than racing, it is also considered an MMOR.

Casual

Many types of MMO games can be classified as casual, because they are designed to appeal to all computer users (as opposed to subgroup of frequent game buyers), or to fans of another game genre (such as collectible card games). Such games are easy to learn and require a smaller time commitment than other game types. Other popular casual games include simple management games such as The Sims Online or Kung Fu Panda World.

MMORPGs, or massively multiplayer online puzzle games, are based entirely on puzzle elements. They are usually set in a world where the players can access the puzzles around the world. Most games that are MMOPGs are hybrids with other genres. Castle Infinity was the first MMOG developed for children. Its gameplay falls somewhere between puzzle and adventure.

There are also massively multiplayer collectible card games: Alteil, Astral Masters and Astral Tournament. Other MMOCCGs might exist (Neopets has some CCG elements) but are not as well known.

Alternate reality games (ARGs) can be massively multiplayer, allowing thousands of players worldwide to co-operate in puzzle trials and mystery solving. ARGs take place in a unique mixture of online and real-world play that usually does not involve a persistent world, and are not necessarily multiplayer, making them different from MMOGs.

Music/rhythm

Massively multiplayer online music/rhythm games (MMORGs), sometimes called massively multiplayer online dance games (MMODGs), are MMOGs that are also music video games. This idea was influenced by Dance Dance Revolution. Audition Online is another casual massively multiplayer online game and it is produced by T3 Entertainment.

Just Dance 2014 has a game mode called World Dance Floor, which also structures like an MMORPG.

Social

Massively multiplayer online social games (MMOSGs) focus on socialization instead of objective-based gameplay. There is a great deal of overlap in terminology with "online communities" and "virtual worlds". One example that has garnered widespread media attention is Linden Lab's Second Life, emphasizing socializing, worldbuilding and an in-world virtual economy that depends on the sale and purchase of user-created content. It is technically an MMOSG or Casual Multiplayer Online (CMO) by definition, though its stated goal was to realize the concept of the Metaverse from Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash". Instead of being based around combat, one could say that it was based around the creation of virtual objects, including models and scripts. In practice, it has more in common with Club Caribe than EverQuest. It was the first MMO of its kind to achieve widespread success (including attention from mainstream media); however, it was not the first (as Club Caribe was released in 1988). Competitors in this subgenre (non-combat-based MMORPG) include Active Worlds, There, SmallWorlds, Furcadia, Whirled, IMVU and Red Light Center.

Many browser-based Casual MMOs have begun to spring up. This has been made easier because of maturing of Adobe Flash and the popularity of Club Penguin, Growtopia, and The Sims Online.

Combat

Massively multiplayer online combat games are realtime objective, strategy and capture the flag style modes.

Infantry Online is an example multiplayer combat video game with sprite animation graphics, using complex soldier, ground vehicle and space-ship models on typically complex terrains developed by Sony online entertainment.

Research

Some recent attempts to build peer-to-peer (P2P) MMOGs have been made. Outback Online may be the first commercial one, however, so far most of the efforts have been academic studies. A P2P MMOG may potentially be more scalable and cheaper to build, but notable issues with P2P MMOGs include security and consistency control, which can be difficult to address given that clients are easily hacked. Some MMOGs such as Vindictus use P2P networking and client-server networking together.

In April 2004, the United States Army announced that it was developing a massively multiplayer training simulation called AWE (asymmetric warfare environment). The purpose of AWE is to train soldiers for urban warfare and there are no plans for a public commercial release. Forterra Systems is developing it for the Army based on the There engine.

In 2010, Bonnie Nardi published an ethnographic study on World of Warcraft examined with Lev Vygotsky's activity theory.

As the field of MMOs grows larger each year, research has also begun to investigate the socio-informatic bind the games create for their users. In 2006, researchers Constance A. Steinkuehler and Dmitri Williams initiated research on such topics. The topic most intriguing to the pair was to further understand the gameplay, as well as the virtual world serving as a social meeting place, of popular MMOs.

To further explore the effects of social capital and social relationships on MMOs, Steinkuehler and Williams combined conclusions from two different MMO research projects: sociocultural perspective on culture and cognition, and the other on media effects of MMOs. The conclusions of the two studies explained how MMOs function as a new form of a "third place" for informal social interactions much like coffee shops, pubs, and other typical hangouts. Many scholars, however, such as Oldenburg (1999), refute the idea of a MMOs serving as a "third place" due to inadequate bridging social capital. His argument is challenged by Putnam (2000) who concluded that MMOs are well suited for the formation of bridging social capital, tentative relationships that lack in depth, because it is inclusive and serves as a sociological lubricant that is shown across the data collected in both of the research studies.

MMOs can also move past the "lubricant" stage and into the "superglue" stage known as bonding social capital, a closer relationship that is characterized by stronger connections and emotional support. The study concludes that MMOs function best as a bridging mechanism rather than a bonding one, similar to a "third place". Therefore, MMOs have the capacity and the ability to serve as a community that effectively socializes users just like a coffee shop or pub, but conveniently in the comfort of their home.

Spending

British online gamers are outspending their German and French counterparts according to a study commissioned by Gamesindustry.com and TNS. The UK MMO-market is now worth £195 million in 2009 compared to the £165 million and £145 million spent by German and French online gamers.

The US gamers spend more, however, spending about $3.8 billion overall on MMO games. $1.8 billion of that money is spent on monthly subscription fees. The money spent averages out to $15.10 between both subscription and free-to-play MMO gamers. The study also found that 46% of 46 million players in the US pay real money to play MMO games.

Today's Gamers MMO Focus Report, published in March 2010, was commissioned by TNS and gamesindustry.com. A similar study for the UK market-only (UK National Gamers Survey Report) was released in February 2010 by the same groups.