The traditional Myst MMO is getting an brand-new age this weekend

Launched in 1993, Myst is without doubt one of the most profitable and influential videogames of all time. Naturally, it grew to become a sequence, and a decade after the unique, developer Cyan Worlds went all-in on its ambitions with Uru: Ages Past Myst, which was meant to function a small-scale MMO element known as Uru Dwell. Alas, it bombed, the entire Uru Dwell section was cancelled, and that was that till GameTap launched it in 2007 as Myst On-line: Uru Dwell just a few years later. That bombed too.

Ultimately, the rights to the entire thing went again to Cyan, who put it out (once more) without spending a dime. I’ve knocked round in it just a few occasions and it is cool, but it surely additionally feels incomplete and small—a tiny memorial to what may need been. It is a forgotten nook of the game world, a spot where a half-dozen or so individuals can wistfully wander and poke round and, on very fortunate days, discover another person to speak to. I get the itch to hop into it each few years, and each time I am completely happy to find it is nonetheless there, but additionally form of blue to see it left in such a state. So I used to be very pleasantly shocked—stoked, even—to see Cyan tweet yesterday {that a} new Age is coming to Myst On-line.

The addition of latest content material to Myst On-line is a bit like Everquest 2’s recently-announced nineteenth growth: Sudden, and form of bizarre, as a result of who knew these video games have been nonetheless operating within the first place? And, it is honest to ask, why? Notably within the case of Myst On-line—Everquest 2 is terribly outdated as videogames go, however at the least it truly launched and was moderately profitable in its time.

It seems that this is not the primary new Age added to Myst On-line lately. Followers have been futzing round with the game for years, however in 2020 Cyan opened the door to fan-made-but-official new Ages, starting with a Guild of Messengers Pub and a memorial backyard known as Veelay Tsahvahn, each of which hyperlink again to a brand new central space. As Zarf Updates defined on the time, all of this new content material was 100% fan service, which was doubly attention-grabbing as a result of the Myst On-line fan base “is tremendously loyal and enthusiastic, but it surely’s additionally small and probably not rising.”

“About 200 individuals logged in for this unveiling, which is a gigantic crowd in Uru phrases; I am positive it is the most important we have seen since 2010,” Zarf wrote. “However in Web phrases it is not a lot. And clearly the energetic Cavern inhabitants will drop again off to a dozen-ish in just a few days.”

Here is a fan-made video from early 2021 that I believe properly captures the spirit of these followers:

I’ve by no means seen wherever close to 200 individuals in Myst On-line; I might name a dozen individuals directly a fairly good day. However that is what makes the addition of a brand new Age, and the prospect of extra to return, so legitimately thrilling and even just a little uplifting: By the efforts of a handful of devoted followers and a game studio that helps them, this bizarre little world is not simply persisting, it is truly rising. As somebody who was deeply disillusioned by the failure of Uru Dwell 20 years in the past (and, fairly frankly, indignant at Ubisoft for refusing to even give it an opportunity), I believe that is very cool, and I plan on being there for it.

The revealing of Fahets: Highgarden in Myst On-line is ready to happen at 11:30 am PT/2:30 pm ET on October 1. In the event you’re curious, you’ll be able to leap in without spending a dime at mystonline.com: You will want a Pentium 4, 512MB RAM, and a 32MB video card to play.