The Five Longest Running MMOs

MMORPG.com's Bill Murphy writes this week's list of the five longest running MMOs.

The genre of MMORPGs, if it should even be called that, is a fairly new phenomenon in the world of gaming. Dating all the way back to the MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) of days gone by, the MMORPG has quite a few long-running games in its library. Most gamers might attribute the birth of the genre to a simple few: Ultima Online, Everquest and Lineage. While these pioneers should largely be considered the games responsible for bringing MMORPGs into the public eye, they are not the oldest titles out there. Ultima Online is going on its 13th year of activity, but believe it or not there are five games that came before it which are still alive and kicking. There may be a few technicalities that could switch the ordering around, but without further adieu, here is the list for the five longest running MMOs.

#5 Nexus: Kingdom of the Wind

Launched in Korea in 1996, and again in North America in 1998, Nexus could also be slotted at number four but we’re going to go with the North American release date for the purpose of this list. Nexus is something of a harbinger for what was to come out of Korea. While the most notable “old-timer” from Korea is thought of as Lineage, it was Nexus that first brought the MMO into the collective conscience of many Eastern gamers.

Read The Five Longest Running MMOs