Thanks to the internet, nothing is ever really lost forever now, particularly with the rise of community-led preservation efforts. The exception would seem to be MMOs, after all,ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ once the developers turn the servers off the game is shut down permanently, right? Maybe not.

Fans rebuilding entire games and private servers mean that even when an MMO shuts down, you may still be able to play it if you're determined enough. Read below to find a list of just a few of the MMOs which were officially shut down, but can still be played today. We can't point you to how each one can be played, that would take an entire guide for some of them, but they're out there.

Updated January 24, 2024 by Jon Eakin: Almost the day this article was first published, some major news dropped about one of the games discussed within it. It's always our intent to give you the most up-to-date information we can, so we've made sure to include the new information in the City of Heroes entry.

10 🅰 The Matrix Online

You Stay In Wonderland

The Matrix Online was ultimately a game of style over substance, but style was exactly what players were looking for. Dressing your🌜꧋ character in sharp threads and performing impossible kung fu moves was what we all wanted, and ultimately what we got.

There was a fun irony to controlling a character who was intended, in the story of the game, to be a digital avatar in a digital world. The Matrix Online closed down in Augus🐈t 2009, sporting less than 500 subscribers at the time. It was an understandable decision financially, but the game is still out there to be experienced for those determined enough.

9 Pira🉐tes Of The Caribbean Online

Set Sail

There is no shortage of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:games that let you play as a pirate, but for manyܫ that love of the high seas w💞as sparked by the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The MMO for that franchise was closed in 2013, but two years later an unofficial fan revival popped up named The Legend Of Pirates Online.

It's an interesting game to look back on and compare to games like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sea of Thieves, how much of their blueprint do they owe to Pirates of the Caribbean, either the game or the ꦛfilms for tone? Thanks to dedicated fans you can contrast and compare anytime you like.

8 🌳 ♔ Toontown Online

That's Not All, Folks

Disney closed T🍌oontown Online in 2013, and the most famous fan preservation effort was publicly available only one year later, Toontown Rewritten. Considering that it officially launched in 2003, having such a dedicated community ten years later speaks to the quality of this award-winning game.

Toontown Online was ahead of its time, offering player housing as a base feature, something many MMOs today still either don't have or only offer as paid DLC. It being ahead of its time was part of the reason why it closed down, Disney wanted to port it to mobile as a live service game, but the technology wasn't ready.

7 Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoni𝔍ng

Chaos Can't Be Stopped

An MMO based on the popular 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Warhammer fantasy setting would seem like a guaranteed hit, especially when developed by Mythic Entertainment. It was liked by fans and received favourable reviews, so how did it become so unpopular that it was shut down? Funny thing, it didn't.

Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning was shut down because the licensing agreement expired, seeing the game come to a close in December 2013. Fans don't let something like that get in the way of worshipping the Chaos Gods though, so a version of the game called Return Of Reckoning still exists.

6 Asheron's Call

One Of The First

Asheron's Call was actually the third-ever MMO, breaking ground along with Ultima Online and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:EverQuest, but is the only one of the three to have been closed down. It remained online for an impressive 17 years, but couldn't compete with the new features and updates seen among competitors.

There are several private servers and emulation efforts for Asheron's Call, showing that it still holds a fond place in the hearts of many players. For a whole generation, it was their first MMO and can never be replaced.

5 ⛄ ⛦ Earth & Beyond

Westwood's Last Game

There was a time when Westwood Studios was one of the biggest game developers around, best known for the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Command & Conquer series. Earth & Beyond was their final🦹 game, launched💧 in 2002 and closed down only two years later in 2004.

Despite this, Earth & Beyond was a fantastic space-faring MMO that provided the blueprints for future games like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Eve Online, focusing on exploration and trade jus🥂t as much as combat. Emulation efforts exist, allowing you to take to the stars once again.

4 ♏ Star Wars Galaxies

Hello There

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Star Wars Galaꦆxies was a beloved MMO to many, launching in 2003. The graphics were impressive for the time, including the movie soundtracks, and the game was pleasantly 🥂complex. It even had the fun feature that playing as a Jedi was something that had to be unlocked through gameplay, making it feel special.

As the game progressed not all updates were well received by players. It shut down in 2011, spawning multiple fan e🌞mulation projects. They seek to recreate 🥃the game at different points of its life cycle, so you can find whichever version of the game you were most fond of.

3 Wildstar

The Best Of Everything

Wildstar wasn't an MMO that broke new ground but instead cherry-picked the best elements from other games to make something almost perfect. The combat, raids, and player housing systems in particular were all worthy of praise.

Efforts by the community to recreate Wildstar, which officially shut down in 2018, are still ongoing. They're available to play but it's worth keeping in mind that they aren't complete yet, the complexity of some of Wildstar's systems means it could be some time before the game exists exactly as it once did.

2 💫 The Sims Online

Sul Sul

The Sims is one of the most popular game series of all time, with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Sims 4 enjoying dedicated fans waiting eagerly for every expansion. The idea of a Sims MMO seems like it would be a slam dunk for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Electronic Arts, but t🎃he game never saw the critical or comm🌳ercial success that was expected of it.

It still had its fans and continues to do so to this day, evidenced by the fact that free versions of The Sims Online are available to download and play. Even if you're more interested in modern iterations of The Sims, it's worth checking out to see how they tried to translate it into an online experience.

1 🏅 City Of Heroes

Super Strong Gameplay, Reborn

It's bizarre that a superhero MMO has never had true, breakout success. The genre is more popular than ever, but even 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:DC Universe Online hasn't managed to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:crack the code. The game that did it best was City of Heroes, allowing you to play as the su🐠perhero or villain of your dreams. The character creator was one of the most robust ever made, and the gameplay loop was deeply satisfying.

It was so beloved that, when the shutdown was announced, the players made an offer to the studio to outright buy the game from them. This didn't come to fruition, but City of Heroes now has a variety of servers provided by fans to play on, each offering their own take on the game.

In groundbreaking news, the most popular of these fan servers has officially been granted a license for the game from NCSoft. The server in question, called City of Heroes Homecoming, was one of the first fan servers available. Providing regular updates to the game, the intent has always be♏en to preserve the original spirit of City of Heroes. They spent several years courting NCSoft executives🐬, proving that they could be trusted to handle a license the company no longer intended to use. This is proof that there are real heroes in gaming, and that, thanks to them, you can be one again too.