# The Vanishing of Online Worlds > 87% of classic games are no longer available. For online worlds, the loss is even more absolute — when servers die, the world vanishes. An interactive timeline of MUDs and MMOs: which survived, which were preserved, and which are gone forever. Source: https://metavert.io/vanishing-online-worlds Published: 2026-04-05 Updated: 2026-04-05 87% of classic games are no longer commercially available. For online worlds, the loss is even more absolute — when the servers die, the world vanishes. Source: [Video Game History Foundation](https://gamehistory.org/87percent/), 2023 Still Running Community Preserved AI Resurrected Fading Lost Text-Based Worlds ([MUDs](https://metavert.io/mud)) 1978 [MUD1](https://metavert.io/mud1) Preserved MUD Revived 2000 as British Legends; source code on GitHub. Created by Richard Bartle & Roy Trubshaw. 1987 [AberMUD](https://metavert.io/mud) Fading MUD ~20 servers still running; tiny player base. 1989 [TinyMUD](https://metavert.io/mud) Lost MUD Shut down 1990; resurrects once per year on "Brigadoon Day." 1990 [DikuMUD](https://metavert.io/mud) Preserved MUD Valhalla MUD running since 1990; many living descendants. 1990 [GemStone IV](https://metavert.io/mud) Running MUD 35+ years — longest-running multiplayer game in history. 1992 [Legends of Future Past](https://metavert.io/legends-of-future-past) AI Resurrected MUD Shut down 1999; resurrected in 2026 via agentic AI from 30-year-old artifacts. [Read the story](https://meditations.metavert.io/p/resurrecting-a-1992-mud-with-agentic). 1994 [LegendMUD](https://metavert.io/mud) Running MUD 30+ years of continuous operation. Co-created by Raph Koster. 1996 [DragonRealms](https://metavert.io/mud) Running MUD ~400 daily players; still actively supported by Simutronics. 1996 [Threshold RPG](https://www.thresholdrpg.com/) Running MUD Roleplay-enforced MUD still running after nearly 30 years. 1997 [Iron Realms (Achaea)](https://www.ironrealms.com/) Running MUD Achaea and four other MUDs still actively developed; mobile clients available. Graphical MMOs 1996 [Meridian 59](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Preserved MMO Open source on GitHub; free on Steam. First 3D multiplayer game. 1997 [Ultima Online](https://metavert.io/ultima-online) Running MMO Official servers still live + hundreds of fan-operated freeshards. 1997 [Tibia](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Running MMO Continuously running since launch. 1999 [EverQuest](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Running MMO Official live servers + Project 1999 (licensed community emulator). 1999 [Asheron's Call](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Preserved MMO Shut down 2017; community-built ACEmulator keeps it alive. 2001 [Anarchy Online](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Running MMO Still operating after 25 years. 2003 [Star Wars Galaxies](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Preserved MMO Shut down 2011; SWGEmu + SWG Legends active with thousands of players. 2003 [The Sims Online](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Lost MMO Shut down 2008; EA sent cease-and-desist to emulator projects. 2004 [City of Heroes](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Preserved MMO Shut down 2012; Homecoming officially licensed by NCsoft in 2024. 100K+ fans returned. 2005 [The Matrix Online](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Fading MMO Shut down 2009; limited emulator allows exploration only. 2008 [Warhammer Online](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Preserved MMO Shut down 2013; Return of Reckoning active since 2014. 2011 [Club Penguin](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Lost MMO Shut down 2017; Disney aggressively shuts down fan servers via DMCA. 2014 [WildStar](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) Lost MMO Shut down 2018; no working emulator exists. 87% of classic games released before 2010 are no longer commercially available. Online worlds face an even starker reality: when servers shut down, the world itself ceases to exist. Only 13% of gaming history remains accessible. [Legends of Future Past](https://metavert.io/legends-of-future-past) is the first online world resurrected using agentic AI — proving that when creative artifacts survive, lost worlds can be rebuilt. ## Related Topics - [Multi-User Dungeon (MUD)](https://metavert.io/mud) - [MMORPG](https://metavert.io/mmorpg) - [MUD1](https://metavert.io/mud1) - [Legends of Future Past](https://metavert.io/legends-of-future-past) - [Ultima Online](https://metavert.io/ultima-online) - [Virtual World](https://metavert.io/virtual-world) - [Games](https://metavert.io/games) - [Agentic Engineering](https://metavert.io/agentic-engineering) ## Further Reading - [From Dead Servers to Live Players: Resurrecting a 1992 MUD with Agentic AI](https://meditations.metavert.io/p/resurrecting-a-1992-mud-with-agentic) (Jon Radoff) - [87% Missing: The Disappearance of Classic Video Games](https://gamehistory.org/87percent/) (Video Game History Foundation) - [Online World Timeline](https://www.raphkoster.com/games/the-online-world-timeline/) (Raph Koster) - [Games as Products, Games as Platforms](https://meditations.metavert.io/p/games-as-products-games-as-platforms) (Jon Radoff) - [The Direct-From-Imagination Era Has Begun](https://meditations.metavert.io/p/the-direct-from-imagination-era-has-begun-8a01244b75) (Jon Radoff)