ESEscapist Magazine
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.
