A toast to the wild west weirdos of the MMO goldrush—from the game that unleashed pandora's lootbox, to a deeply strange mess based off a 1996 science fiction novel
This article reflects on the unique and often strange MMOs from the genre's goldrush era between 2005-2015, highlighting games like Zhengtu Online, which pioneered lootboxes, and The Matrix Online, an ambitious early example of live service elements. It contrasts these experimental titles with the more risk-averse nature of modern game development, suggesting that such creative and peculiar games are unlikely to emerge today.
- Entities
- Game: Guild Wars 2
- Company: Sony
- Game: The Matrix Online
- Game: Zhengtu Online
- Company: DRAGO Entertainment
- Topic: Extraction Shooter
- Game: Empire of Sports
- Company: Aventurine
- Game: Fortnite
- Topic: MMOs
- Game: World of Warcraft
- Company: F4
- Topic: Game Design
- Game: Otherland
- Game: Arc Raiders
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