Place 6 – Tibia
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: CipSoft | Platform: PC | Release Date: January 7, 1997 | Model: Free2Play
What is known about the total number of players? When the officials from CipSoft announced their new project Persist Online in June 2024, they repeatedly referred to their previous success title Tibia, which has attracted over 32 million players since 1997 and generated more than 200 million euros in revenue.
However, as the figures already made rounds in 2022 (via massivelyop.com), the actual lifetime community is likely to be significantly larger. Tibia is of course Free2Play and can be quickly downloaded and tried out.
Here is the trailer for the new class of Tibia:
What kind of game is this? Tibia is one of the oldest and most successful online role-playing games in Europe. The MMORPG throws you into an old-school medieval world where you, as a knight, paladin, wizard, or druid (a fifth class is announced), explore the regions of the game world, solve puzzles, or tackle the countless challenges of the game.
The somewhat dated top-down perspective mainly appeals to retro fans. Due to the lack of a level cap, you can fully indulge in XP grinding and invest years in your character’s development. However, don’t get caught cheating, otherwise your character and many years of playtime can quickly be gone.
Who is this MMORPG worthwhile for? You have to like the old-school player experience, the dated technology, and the lengthy XP grind of Tibia. However, if you like that, you will find a community that has been built over decades and a piece of MMORPG history from Germany in the game. And this mix is still working: Everywhere people are being laid off, in Germany an MMORPG pays its employees hefty bonuses
