A user wanted to play a solo MMORPG but could not find one. For this reason, he developed his own game. The game that emerged is called Erenshor. The developer explains how the game was created and why he opted out of certain realistic features.
Which developer is it? Brian “Burgee” develops the simulated MMORPG Erenshor as a solo developer. On Steam, the game holds around 1,000 reviews rated “very positive”.
The developer explained in an interview with the English magazine PCGamer that he has a job in healthcare and a young family, which leaves him little time to play. For this reason, he wanted to play an MMO that could also be played alone. When he could not find one, he decided to develop one himself. He said:
I have always Googled for single-player style MMORPGs and never found one, but I found a whole lot of other people who were looking for one too, and that made me start working on it.
In Erenshor, all characters are simulated and are meant to act like real people
What is special about the game? The design and appearance are strongly reminiscent of older MMORPGs. Even the game’s interface resembles games like EverQuest and other dinosaurs of MMORPG history.
However, the special thing is that all players you meet in Erenshor are not real players. They are all digital companions who develop like human players. The second, important difference from a real MMORPG: The so-called SimPlayers are always ready to team up with you and embark on adventures whenever you want. You won’t be excluded because you have weak equipment or because you are playing the wrong and too weak class.
According to the developer, each of these SimPlayers should have their own pre-crafted personalities and motivations and their own opinions about you and the other players.
Many do not actually want a completely real MMORPG experience
Criticism of too much realism: In the conversation, Brian also explained that many players initially wanted realistic features: The simulated players should steal loot, kick players out of the party, or have real daily routines that log in and out of the game. Just like in a real MMORPG.
But as soon as the developer implemented the code for it, there were a series of complaints, and he removed it again. He explained: Talking about it is kind of cool, but being robbed in the actual game is something you really don’t want:
After I passed this update on to the testers, I received one complaint after another. It’s fun to talk about being attacked and beaten by the simulated players, but it’s not fun when it actually happens. You then get the feeling that you’re actually playing a real MMORPG.
Online role-playing games are actually designed for playing with as many players as possible. However, more and more players now want to achieve success in online worlds alone and not necessarily join a group or guild. Find out here which MMORPGs you can have the most fun with as a solo player: Which MMORPGs are also fun to play alone? The 7 best online role-playing games for solo players 2025
