The Realm Online delighted many fans of the MMORPG genre for 27 years, but the servers were shut down in June 2023. Now the game returns with a new team.
What is The Realm Online?
- The Realm Online has been around since 1996 for PC. Even before the term MMORPG was established, the game was developed by Sierra Entertainment.
- It is considered the online game that invented the concept of instances. In this MMORPG, there are also turn-based battles.
- The servers were shut down in June 2023. At that time, the rights to the game were still held by Norseman Games. Realm Worlds LLC, which was responsible for development at that time, wanted to take over the IP, but negotiations failed.
Fortunately, another interested party has emerged: The IP was sold to Virtual World Holdings, who are now giving the game a second life. The servers were turned back on on November 24, 2023.
There are other MMORPGs that have been around for more than 20 years. MeinMMO introduces them to you in a video:
What changes are there? The biggest novelty is the new server (via realmserver.com). In addition to the Free-to-Play server Despothes Grove, there is also the server Mabons Gamble. For this server, you have to pay a monthly fee, which can be paid as follows:
- 1 month: 4.49 US Dollars
- 3 months: 12.74 US Dollars
- 6 months: 23.99 US Dollars
- 1 year: 44.99 US Dollars
On the server, there are some changes compared to the normal server. For example, there is a new system with ‘Mastery Points’. Using skills increases the ‘Precision Points’ related to the skill.
Furthermore, a new zone event system has been added. The event supports experience points, kills, and item collection for the entire community. You can imagine these events like the events from Guild Wars 2. In such an event, players attempted to lose.
Additionally, many balance adjustments have been made. The complete list can be found in the post from the responsible parties on November 20, 2023.
In future updates, an increase in the maximum level, a modification of the crafting system, and additional quality-of-life features are planned. For the development team, the pay-to-play server is intended to ensure the long-term existence of the MMORPG.
If you are a fan of old-school MMORPGs, you can initially test the free server to see if the game is for you. If you like the title, it is still possible to join the paid server and benefit from the new features.
Otherwise, the following MMORPGs might be of interest to you: 8 old MMORPGs that are still being played
