Game History
Ongoing coverage on Game History.
Latest coverage
LOTRO Legendarium: Looking back at LOTRO’s Shadows of Angmar
This article looks back at the initial launch and early development of Lord of the Rings Online, focusing on its first major content rollout, Shadows of Angmar. It details the game's state at launch in 2007, its initial zones, and the subsequent additions of features like housing and new areas, highlighting how the game evolved from its early days into the expansive MMORPG it is today.
League of Legends YouTuber unearths the original investor pitch from when the game was called Onslaught: War of the…
A League of Legends YouTuber, Necrit, in collaboration with Riot Games' Paul "Pabro" Bellezza, has unearthed an original investor pitch for the game when it was known as Onslaught: War of the Immortals. The unearthed materials reveal a vastly different early version of the game, featuring a cityscape map, customizable immortals, and distinct 'order' and 'chaos' realms, with some champions like Annie and Sion appearing significantly altered from their current forms.
My new favourite Tolkien game is free, has over 40 years of history, and would run on a toaster
Sil-Q is a free, open-source game that adapts the classic Rogue gameplay into J.R.R. Tolkien's First Age of Arda. Its development lineage traces back over 40 years through games like Sil, Angband, and Moria, offering a deep dive into Tolkien lore with mechanics that prioritize setting fidelity over traditional game balance.
Kingdom Hearts will have a big presence at a Disney fan event next month, but you probably shouldn't get too excited about Kingdom Hearts 4
Kingdom Hearts will be featured at the upcoming D23 Disney fan event, focusing on the series' history rather than new reveals for Kingdom Hearts 4. While a trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 was recently shown, featuring gameplay and confirming its release on the Nintendo Switch 2, the D23 event will feature a 'deep dive' into the franchise's past with "creative minds" and "character voices."
Game History and Preservation
John Romero expressed sympathy for id Software employees reportedly laid off, emphasizing the importance of preserving the studio's game history. He highlighted his own efforts in game preservation before his departure from the company.
A complete history of Star Fox 64 retellings and differences between each one
This article analyzes the history of the Star Fox franchise, focusing on the numerous retellings and remakes of Star Fox 64 across various Nintendo platforms. It discusses the differences and similarities between these versions, from the Super Nintendo original to the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, and questions Nintendo's reliance on rehashed stories for the series.
Fenris Creations' CEO is determined put an epic tome of EVE Online's history on the moon
Fenris Creations CEO Hilmar Petursson plans to place a historical tome of EVE Online's lore, titled The Capsuleer Edda, on the moon. The book is being written with ink and human blood donated by players at EVE Fanfest.
Empires of EVE author has launched the Kickstarter for his new MMORPG history book
Andrew Groen, author of the Empires of EVE books, has launched a Kickstarter for his new MMORPG history book, "The Archive: Epics of Virtual History." The book aims to preserve the cultural history of virtual worlds by documenting significant events and moments within games like EVE Online, World of Warcraft, and Runescape. The Kickstarter has already surpassed its initial funding goal.
Diablo, Starcraft, Warcraft – Blizzard-vecka på FZ!
In anticipation of the Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred expansion release, FZ is dedicating a week to Blizzard Entertainment's games and history. The coverage will include discussions on early titles, Blizzard's successes and failures, the future of Starcraft, and a review of Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred.
45+ PS5, PS4 Games to Buy in PS Store's Big Games Big Deals Sale
The PlayStation Store is currently hosting its Big Games Big Deals sale, featuring thousands of discounted PS5 and PS4 titles until May 6, 2026. The article highlights a curated selection of recommended games, many of which are at their lowest-ever prices.
Before MMOs, before Discord, before everything, we played MUDs, and there wasn’t an MTX in sight
Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs), originating in 1978, are a foundational element of online gaming history, predating modern MMOs and the internet as we know it. These text-based worlds pioneered concepts like persistent online communities, character progression, and player interaction, influencing genres from RPGs to social platforms. Despite the rise of graphical games, MUDs continue to exist and evolve, offering a unique experience focused on imagination and shared text-based worlds.
Saturday Postmortems/Retrospectives
This article discusses an obscure Ukrainian Quake clone that predated Stalker and innovated within the first-person shooter genre. The game is highlighted for its contributions to PC gaming history.
A decade before Stalker, this obscure Ukrainian Quake clone was quietly breaking new ground for first-person shooters
Chasm: The Rift, an obscure Ukrainian first-person shooter from 1997 developed by Action Forms, predated S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and introduced innovative features for its time. Despite its visual similarities to Quake, Chasm utilized a unique homebrew engine and featured surprising elements like detailed dismemberment and a more involved narrative structure for the era, though its gameplay was more methodical and less fluid than its contemporaries.
EVE Online is collecting player blood for a historical Icelandic saga about the game
CCP Games is collecting blood samples from EVE Online players at Fanfest 2026 to create a historical saga called the Capsuleer Edda. This project aims to preserve the game's living history by mixing player blood with a 17th-century ink formula and inscribing it into a vellum tome, designed to last for millennia.
You've never heard of it, but a Russian studio made a fantasy take on original Fallout way back in 2001, and it…
GoldenLand, also known as Heath: The Unchosen Path, is a 2001 Russian CRPG that draws heavy inspiration from Western titles like Fallout and Baldur's Gate. Despite its janky presentation and limited budget, the game successfully blends Russian folklore with classic CRPG mechanics, offering a unique experience that highlights the ambition of early Russian game development.
