Title |
Founded |
Closed |
Business model |
Developer |
Publisher |
Setting |
Style |
Family |
Codebase |
Mudlib |
Contributions |
Notes |
MUD1 | 1978 | | Free | Roy Trubshaw, Richard Bartle | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | Essex | MUDDL | | MUDDL | The first MUD; see also British Legends |
MAD | 1984 | 1986 | Free | Bruno Chabrier, Vincent Lextrait | BITNET | Fantasy | Hack and slash | | | | | |
Island of Kesmai | 1985 | 2000 | Subscription | Kesmai | CompuServe | Fantasy | Hack and slash, roguelike | | | | | See also Legends of Kesmai |
MUD2 | 1985 | | Free | Richard Bartle | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | Essex | MUDDL | | | Successor to MUD1 |
AberMUD | 1987 | 1987 | Free | Alan Cox, Richard Acott, Jim Finnis, Leon Thrane | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | AberMUD | AberMUD | | AberMUD | The first AberMUD |
British Legends | 1987 | 1999 | Subscription | Roy Trubshaw, Richard Bartle | CompuServe | Fantasy | Hack and slash | Essex | MUDDL | | | Commercial version of MUD1 |
GemStone | 1988 | | Subscription | Simutronics | GEnie, AOL, independent | High fantasy | Hack and slash | | | | | |
Avalon | 1989 | | Free | Yehuda Simmons | | Fantasy | Politics, player versus player, roleplaying | | | | | Pioneered plotted quests[1] |
TinyMUD | 1989 | 1990 | Free | James Aspnes | | Cross-genre | Social | MU* | TinyMUD | | TinyMUD | |
Genesis LPMud | 1989 | | Free | Lars Pensjö, Carl Hallén, Jakob Hallén, Lennart Augustsson, Johan Andersson, Anders Chrigström, Ronny Wikh, Stas van der Schaaf, Tony Elmroth, Dave Richards, Thornsten Lockert, Felix Croes et al. | | Medieval fantasy | Roleplaying | LPMud | LPMud, CD | CD | LPMud, CD gamedriver and mudlib | The first LPMud |
TinyTIM | 1990 | | Free | Jason Scott Sadofsky et al. | | Cross-genre | Social | MU* | TinyMUD, MUSH | | | |
BatMUD | 1990 | | Pay for perks | B.A.T. ry | | Fantasy | Hack and slash, player versus player | LPMud | LPMud | | | |
FurryMUCK | 1990 | | Donation-supported | | | Furry | Social, roleplaying | MU* | TinyMUCK | | | |
Shattered World | 1990 | | Free | Geoff Wong et al. | | Medieval fantasy | Roleplaying | LPMud | LPMud 2.4.5, SWLPC | | SWLPC | |
Darker Realms | 1990 | | Free | | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash | LPMud | LPMud 3.1.6-DR | LPMud 2.4.5 | | |
LambdaMOO | 1990 | | Free | Pavel Curtis et al. | Xerox PARC, independent | Cross-genre | Social | MU* | MOO | | LambdaCore | |
MicroMUSE | 1990 | | Free | | | Cross-genre | Educational, social | MU* | MUSH, TinyMUSE | | TinyMUSE | Arguably first educational MUD |
Lost Souls | 1990 | | Pay for perks | Michael Rice, Rebecca Willey, Matthew Sheahan et al. | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash, roleplaying | LPMud | LPMud 2.4.5, LPMud 3.1.2, Amylaar, LDMud | Ain Soph | | |
TubMUD | 1990 | | Free | | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash, roleplaying | LPMud | LPMud 2.4.5, Amylaar, LDMud | Tublib | | First MUD hosted in Germany |
Ancient Anguish | 1991 | | Donation-supported | Balz Meierhans, Olivier Maquelin et al. | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | LPMud | Amylaar | Loch Ness | | |
Armageddon | 1991 | | Donation-supported, freebie marketing | Dan Brumleve, Nasri Hajj, Santiago Zorzopulos, Cat Rambo et al. | | Post-apocalyptic low fantasy | Roleplaying | DikuMUD | DikuMUD | | | |
DartMUD | 1991 | | Donation-supported | Jonathan Clemens et al. | | Fantasy | Hack and slash, roleplaying | LPMud | LPMud | | | First use of ASCII hex system |
DikuMUD | 1991 | 1991 | Free | Sebastian Hammer, Michael Seifert, Hans Henrik Staerfeldt, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | DikuMUD | | DikuMUD | Refers to the first DikuMUD at freja.diku.dk 4000 |
Discworld MUD | 1991 | | Free | David Bennett, Craig Richmond, Sean A. Reith, Evan Scott, Derek Harding, Jake Greenland et al. | | Discworld | Hack and slash, roleplaying, social | LPMud | LPMud, MudOS, FluffOS | Discworld | Discworld mudlib, FluffOS | |
Dragon's Gate | 1991 | 2006 | Subscription | Darrin Hyrup | GEnie, AOL, Mythic Realms, independent | Fantasy | Hack and slash, roleplaying | | | | | |
Elendor | 1991 | | Free | | | Lord of the Rings | Roleplaying, social | MU* | MUSH | | | |
PernMUSH | 1991 | | Free | | | Pern | Roleplaying, social | MU* | MUSH | | | |
Star Wars MUSH | 1991 | | Free | | | Star Wars | Roleplaying, social | MU* | MUSH | | | |
Xyllomer | 1991 | | Free | | | Fantasy | Roleplaying | LPMud | LPMud, DGD | CD | | First public DGD MUD |
Nuclear War MUD | 1992 | | Free | | | Post-apocalyptic cyberpunk | Hack and slash, player versus player | LPMud | MudOS | LPMud 2.4.5 | | |
Empire | 1992 | 2010 | Free | Farhaj Hashmi et al. | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash, player versus player, roleplaying | DikuMUD | DikuMUD | | | |
Genocide | 1992 | | Free | | | Fantasy | Player versus player | LPMud | LPMud, MudOS, Amylaar | | | First "pure PK" MUD |
Holy Mission | 1992 | | Free | | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | LPMud | LPMud | LPMud 2.4.5 | | |
AmberMUSH | 1992 | 2009 | Free | Jennifer Smith et al. | | Amber | Roleplaying | MU* | TinyMUSH | | | |
Infinity (LPMud) | 1992 | | Free | Peter William Friedman, Bill Mackiewicz et al. | | Cross-genre | Hack and slash, social, player versus player | LPMud | LPMud 3.1.2, LDMud | LPMud 2.4.5 | | |
JediMUD | 1992 | | Free | Jeremy Elson et al. | | Cross-genre | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | CircleMUD | | | |
Medievia | 1992 | | Pay for perks | Michael A. Smith, Anthony Rowley, Michael Krause et al. | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | Merc | | MSP | |
3Kingdoms | 1992 | | Pay for perks | | | Cross-genre | Hack and slash | LPMud | LDMud | | | |
Nightmare LPMud | 1992 | 2005 | Free | George Reese et al. | | Fantasy | Hack and slash, roleplaying | LPMud | MudOS | Nightmare | Nightmare Mudlib | |
Northern Lights | 1992 | | Free | Anna Eklund, Gjermund Sørseth et al. | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash | AberMUD | Dirt | | | |
Ragnarök | 1992 | | Donation-supported | | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash | LPMud | LPMud | LPMud 2.4.5 | | |
The Shadow of Yserbius | 1992 | 1996 | Subscription | Sierra On-Line | The Sierra Network, The ImagiNation Network, AOL | Fantasy | Hack and slash, graphical | | | | | |
MorgenGrauen | 1992 | | Free | | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash | LPMud | LDMud | MorgenGrauen | MorgenGrauen Mudlib | |
Diversity University | 1993 | 2006 | Free | Jeanne McWhorter et al. | | Modern | Educational | MU* | MOO | | | First educational MOO, arguably first educational MUD |
BioMOO | 1993 | 2001 | Free | Gustavo Glusman, Jaime Prilusky et al. | | Modern | Educational | MU* | MOO | | File Utilities Package, intermoo GNA Network | |
Infinity (AberMUD) | 1993 | | Free | | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | AberMUD | AberMUD | | | |
BayMOO | 1993 | | Free | Tim Keanini et al. | | Modern | Social, educational | MU* | MOO | | | |
MediaMOO | 1993 | | Free | Amy S. Bruckman et al. | | Modern | Educational | MU* | MOO | | | |
Legends of Terris | 1994 | | Subscription | Paul Barnett, Doug Goldner, Online Games Company | | Fantasy | Hack and slash, roleplaying | | Horizon Engine | | | |
Muddy Waters | 1993 | | Free | | | Historical fantasy | Hack and slash | LPMud | CD | CD | | |
DragonSpires | 1994 | 1997 | Pay for perks | Dragon's Eye Productions | | Fantasy | Social, roleplaying, graphical | | | | | |
LegendMUD | 1994 | | Free | Raph Koster, Kristen Koster, Rick Delashmit, Sherry Delashmit et al. | | Historical fantasy | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | DikuMUD | | | |
Realms of Despair | 1994 | | Free | Derek Snider et al. | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | Merc 2, SMAUG | | SMAUG | |
Dune II | 1994 | 1996 | Free | John Robertson et al. | | Dune | Roleplaying, social | MU* | TinyMUSH | | | |
Costello | 1995 | | Freebie marketing | Costello Publications | | Fantasy | Educational | LPMud | MudOS | Ain Soph | | |
LinguaMOO | 1995 | | Free | Cynthia Haynes, Jan Rune Holmevik et al. | | Modern | Educational | MU* | MOO | | | |
ATHEMOO | 1995 | 2010 | Free | Juli Burk et al. | | Modern | Educational, theatrical | MU* | MOO | | | |
The Ruins of Cawdor | 1995 | 1996 | Subscription | Sierra On-Line | The Sierra Network, The ImagiNation Network, AOL | Fantasy | Hack and slash, graphical | | | | | |
BurningMUD | 1996 | | Free | | | Fantasy | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | DikuMUD | | | |
DragonRealms | 1996 | | Subscription | Simutronics | GEnie, AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy, Microsoft Gaming Zone, independent | Fantasy | Hack and slash, roleplaying, player versus player | | | | | |
MOOSE Crossing | 1996 | 2007 | Free | Amy S. Bruckman et al. | | Modern | Educational | MU* | MOO | | | |
Legends of Kesmai | 1996 | 2000 | Subscription | Kesmai | independent, AOL, GameStorm, EA | Fantasy | Hack and slash, graphical, roguelike | | | | | Tile-graphics version of Island of Kesmai |
Threshold | 1996 | | Pay for perks | Frogdice | | Fantasy | Roleplaying | LPMud | LPMud, LDMud | TMI-2 | | |
TorilMUD | 1996 | | Free | Kris Kortright et al. | | Forgotten Realms | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | Sequent | | | |
Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands | 1997 | | Pay for perks, subscription | Iron Realms Entertainment | | Fantasy | Roleplaying | | Rapture | | ATCP | |
Alter Aeon | 1997 | | Pay for perks | Dennis Towne et al. | | Medieval fantasy | Hack and slash | DikuMUD | DentinMUD | | | |
ifMUD | 1997 | | Free | Liza Daly et al. | | Interactive fiction | Social | MU* | PerlMUD | | Hosts the XYZZY Awards | |
Darkness Falls: The Crusade | 1999 | 2006 | Subscription | Mythic Entertainment | GameStorm, AOL, Centropolis Entertainment | Fantasy | Player versus player | | | | | |
RuneScape | 2001 | | Subscription, pay for perks | Jagex | | Fantasy | Hack and slash, graphical | | | | | |
TriadCity | 2001 | | Pay for perks | SmartMonsters | | Cross-genre | Hack and slash, roleplaying | | | | | |
Wyvern | 2001 | 2013 | Free | Cabochon Inc. | | Fantasy | Hack and slash, graphical, roguelike | | | | | |
God Wars II | 2002 | | Free | Richard Woolcock et al. | | Dark fantasy | Player versus player | DikuMUD | Gladiator Pits II | | Gladiator Pits II, MSDP | |