The MMORPG Tibia was created in 1995 in Regensburg. Because the developers have always gone their own way, there are very bizarre stories from the online role-playing game. One of the most exciting stories emerged in 2005: the Regensburg team put a door in their MMORPG that no one would open for 11 years.
What is special about Tibia?
- Tibia is an MMORPG from a different time that doesn’t follow a clear blueprint like later MMORPGs. Modern MMORPGs were oriented towards Everquest and wanted to be as fair and standardized as possible. But the developers of Tibia were 4 students from Regensburg who just went for it.
- They built in some secrets and unique items into their game, which is not something you see today.
- One of the biggest secrets was a door.
Developers build a door in their MMORPG, through which no one may pass for 11 years
What kind of door was it? In 2005, the developers added a door to their MMORPG with the inscription: “You see a gate of expertise for level 999. Only the worthy may pass.”
The developers said in an interview with Vice that it was actually just a gag, and for a long time, there was nothing behind this door.
Because level 999 was completely illusory in 2005. No one would reach that for 10 years, one knew. Especially since in Tibia you can even lose experience points and levels if you die.
But after 2005, Tibia continued to grow, the game got bigger and bigger, players leveled up higher and higher, and by 2016 it was time.
Player becomes a star by reaching level 999 first
A player, Kharsek, had leveled up like crazy for 9 years, becoming the star of the game that everyone knew. Now Kharsek was approaching the magical level 999. Everyone was sure: He would soon unveil the secret of the magical door.
This was a big deal at the time. The site 3dJuegos writes there were two groups of players:
- One group helped Kharsek collect as many experience points as possible. He should finally reach level 999 so that everyone would finally learn what was behind the damn door.
- Another group wanted to prevent that, chasing him, killing his spawns right in front of him, or sending mobs against his healer.
Player unveils the secret but simply tells no one
So the opening went: Ultimately, the player reached level 999 in August 2016, and the players of Tibia were excited to finally find out what was behind the door.
A user on reddit wrote at the time:
I’ve never heard of the game in my life, but the most important thing in my life right now is that this stupid bastard opens the stupid door.
Already in 2016, there were things like Twitch and YouTube, and everyone expected to either be present live at the reveal of the big secret or to find out within hours.
Kharsek opened the door, saw what was behind it, logged out, stayed offline, and told no soul what was behind the door. Even when he later returned to Tibia, he said nothing about the door.
The community was in an uproar. After waiting patiently for 11 years, they still learned nothing. There were many theories about what could be behind the door: treasure chests, NPCs, maybe levers and secret stuff.
But Kharsek remained silent, the developers never said anything anyway, and it remained a secret.
A year later, a Twitch streamer says: I will open the door if you pay for my vacation
And what was really behind the door? It took almost a year until June 2017, when the next player reached level 999. He wanted to make the most of the moment, started a Twitch stream, and said: He would only open the door if the viewers paid for his vacation to Morocco: he wanted to earn $500, but not enough money was raised. With just $33, he passed through the portal.
Ultimately, the player went through the door and found a portal to a tropical island with some nice items and a golden trophy with the inscription “Congratulations on reaching level 999.”
It would have probably been cooler if the door had remained a secret forever.
The expectations that had built up over 12 years could probably never have been met.
Level 999 has long since passed in Tibia:
