Massively multiplayer online game

Many people play online games together.

These are called MMO games. You play in one big world. You can meet friends from far away. You can work as a team to win. You can also play against others.

Some games use magic and dragons. Other games use stars and space. You can play on a computer or a phone. It is fun to play with many people at once.

An MMO is a type of online video game. "MMO" stands for massively multiplayer online. In these games, many people play together in one big world.

Players can work as a team or compete against each other. They can even meet people from all over the world.

Many MMOs are role-playing games. We call these MMORPGs. In these games, you take on a special role. Some use fantasy worlds with magic. Others use science fiction settings in space.

Some games have their own money. This is called virtual currency. Players can earn this money to buy things in the game. Sometimes, people try to trade this game money for real money. This is called gold farming. Some players do not like this practice. They feel it makes their hard work feel less special.

You can play MMOs on many devices. Most people use a computer. You can also play on a game console or a smartphone.

Some games use "shards." A shard is a copy of the game world. This helps the computer handle so many players at once.

An MMO is a type of video game played online. The name stands for massively multiplayer online. These games allow a huge number of people to interact in the same digital world.

Players can work together as a team or compete against each other. This can happen on a very large scale. Some games even let people meet others from all over the world. You can play these games on computers, consoles, or even smartphones. Some games use science fiction themes like space. Other games use fantasy settings.

Many popular MMOs are role-playing games, or MMORPGs. In these games, players take on specific roles. This type of game grew from older text-based games called MUDs. These early games were played on large university computers. The first game with graphics was called Air Warrior. It was a flight combat game released in 1986. Later, the game GemStone helped start the MMORPG trend. In 1991, a game called Neverwinter Nights arrived on AOL. It was the first such game to use graphics. It could hold 50 players at once.

Technology has changed how many people can play at once. By 1995, Neverwinter Nights could hold 500 players. By the year 2000, games were serving thousands of players. This led to famous games like World of Warcraft and EVE Online. Some games use AI-controlled characters called NPCs. These characters can give out quests or act as opponents. Some games also use "shards" to help the computers work. A shard is a copy of the game world. This helps manage the many players on a server. The game Ultima Online helped make this term popular.

MMOs often have their own money called virtual currency. Players earn this money to buy things inside the game. This creates a virtual economy. Sometimes, people try to trade this game money for real money. This practice is called gold farming. Some players do not like this because it can feel unfair. They feel it makes their own hard work feel less special. Some companies even hire real economists to study these digital economies. For example, the company CCP Games hired an economist for EVE Online. This helps them understand how the game's money works.

These games have become a huge part of our world. In 2003, the virtual world of EverQuest was very wealthy. Its value was like a real country such as Croatia or Vietnam. World of Warcraft is a very large game. It has had millions of monthly subscribers. In 2010, it had about nine million subscribers. The money spent on virtual goods was over $7 billion in 2010. Today, people can even play MMOs on mobile phones. Some new games even let you move from a PC to a phone. This lets you keep playing wherever you are.

A massively multiplayer online game, often called an MMO, is a digital environment where a large number of people interact simultaneously. These games typically feature a persistent open world. This means the world continues to exist and change even when a player is not logged in.

Players can use these platforms to cooperate in teams or compete against others on a massive scale. They can even interact meaningfully with people from different parts of the globe. While many people play on personal computers, MMOs are also available on video game consoles and mobile devices like smartphones.

To make these worlds work, developers use complex technical structures. Most MMOs rely on company-owned servers to host the game world and the players within it. Unlike standard multiplayer games, which might only host 50 players per server, MMOs can support hundreds or even thousands of people at once. To manage this heavy load, developers sometimes use a system of "shards." A shard is a duplicate copy of the game world. This allows the server to distribute the player population so the technology does not crash. The term "shard" became popular due to the game Ultima Online. Some games, like the space simulation EVE Online, use a single large cluster server that has peaked at over 60,000 simultaneous players.

The most famous subgenre is the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG. In these games, players take on specific roles within a story. This genre grew from early text-based games called MUDs, which were played on university mainframe computers. The first graphical MMO was a flight combat simulation called Air Warrior, released by Kesmai in 1986. Kesmai later created the first 3D MMO by adding 3D graphics to their work. In 1991, the game Neverwinter Nights debuted on AOL as the first MMORPG to include graphics. While it could only handle 50 players at first, that number grew to 500 by 1995. By the year 2000, technology allowed many games to serve thousands of players at once.

As the genre grew, developers applied MMO ideas to different styles of play. This led to new terms like MMORTS, which refers to real-time strategy games with massive player counts. Different themes are also common, such as science fiction or fantasy. Science fiction titles include Star Wars Galaxies and The Matrix Online. Fantasy remains a dominant theme on the PC market. Other games, like Castle Infinity, were specifically designed to be kid-focused. Even mobile gaming has joined the movement. The first mobile MMO, Samurai Romanesque, was released in 2001 on Japan's iMode network.

Inside these digital worlds, players often engage with a virtual economy. Most MMOs use a virtual currency that players earn through gameplay. This money can be used to buy items or services within the game. These economies can become so complex that companies like CCP Games have hired real-life economists to analyze them. This is especially true for EVE Online, where production and trade are closely monitored. Sometimes, the line between the real world and the game blurs. This happens through "economy interaction," where real money is traded for virtual goods.

One controversial practice in these worlds is called "gold farming." This is when individuals acquire large amounts of virtual currency to sell for real money. Some players view this negatively because they feel it devalues the time and effort they spent earning currency through skill. This has led to tension between players and third-party companies. Some companies argue that players are simply selling their time and effort. Meanwhile, game owners argue that they own the rights to how currency is distributed. In 2011, it was estimated that up to 100,000 people in China and Vietnam played games specifically to gather items for sale to Western players.

MMOs have reached a massive level of global significance. In 2003, an analysis by the Financial Times showed the virtual property in EverQuest was incredibly valuable. Its per-capita GDP was $2,266, making its virtual world as wealthy as nations like Croatia, Ecuador, or Vietnam. World of Warcraft is a major leader in this market. In 2010, it had approximately nine million monthly subscribers. Between 2005 and 2009, the game generated over $2.2 billion in subscription spending. Overall, the revenue from virtual goods in online games and social networks exceeded $7 billion in 2010.