2000 Persistent online worlds are hot. Many observers feel they represent the future of the industry, and it's impossible to read about computer games for very long without seeing one or more titles mentioned.
Numerous games are in development including some huge ones aiming to attract millions of players.
Due to their long development times, relatively few titles have attained commercial release. As a consequence, quite a number of gamers, perhaps even the large majority, think of online worlds as a new genre that only came into being within the past few years. Regular readers of this site may recognize the name of Jessica Mulligan as one that is often listed among the pioneers of online gaming. In various capacities, she has been involved in this area since the mid-1980s. For a decade and a half, she has both watched and actively participated in the growth of client-server games from their infancy when players paid by the hour through to the current explosion of interest.