Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) offer players fantastic virtual spaces to explore and socialize. For many gamers, their first foray into online gaming began with EverQuest or World of Warcraft (WoW) during the genre’s golden age. Those two games transformed what was once a niche audience of virtual dwellers into a worldwide phenomenon. Warcraft, in particular, catapulted the genre into the limelight. It became a cultural moment that seemed inescapable, encouraging millions to log on to their very first online role-playing game.
The WoW Effect: A Double-Edged Sword
Sadly, the sheer juggernaut that was WoW also had a profound impact on the MMO business.
- Player Migration: Its massive popularity drove gamers away from other, smaller titles.
- Failed Clones: Developers hoping to capitalize on the genre’s success began developing their own MMOs, often with limited success.
While many of the era’s games still live on, dozens of online-only games fell by the wayside. Following a less-than-successful launch, they were ultimately shut down by their developers.
What is an MMORPG Private Server?
Luckily, many of these shuttered games live on via private or “grey” servers.
These are unofficial fan-operated communities that aim to host games long thought dead. Many of these servers operate in a legally dubious manner. However, once developers shutter and publishers move on, few content rights holders bother with the costly litigation required to shut down these fan-made projects.
Here’s a list of some wonderful classic MMORPGs that you can still play today via private servers, all absolutely free!
1. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Of all the World of Warcraft-like MMORPGs, Warhammer is the most “Warcraft-like” (Fun Fact: The first RTS in Blizzard’s series, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, was originally supposed to be a Warhammer game, but the licensing deal fell through). Developed by Mythic Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, Warhammer Online launched in 2008 into an already crowded market of similar games.
If you’re looking for the WoW experience but without the Warcraft, Warhammer has you covered. Players were split into two factions, Order and Destruction, each with their own factions, armies, and classes. The game is best known for its robust ‘Realm vs. Realm’ features. Players compete in PvP battlefields, storm opposing city capitals, and engage in detailed, objective-based scenarios. If you were a WoW classic PvP fan from the early days of the game, Warhammer absolutely scratches that itch.
Despite being shut down in 2013, a dedicated fan following has kept the game alive via the private server “Return of Reckoning”, which continues to see active development to this day:
Join the Warhammer Online private server here
2. Star Wars Galaxies
By far the most iconic of the “shut down” MMORPGs, Galaxies has the unusual distinction of being a game that had private servers well before the official game shutdown. It’s also unique in that the private servers operate under a sort of “gentlemen’s agreement”. The original developer, Daybreak Interactive (formerly SOE), largely leaves the servers alone so long as the developers don’t monetize the project. But navigating the game’s endless list of private servers requires a brief explanation of the bizarre history of gaming’s most notorious online title.
The Origins of Star Wars Galaxies
The original Star Wars Galaxies launched in 2003. Designed by veteran virtual world designer Raph Koster, Galaxies was an extremely weird game for its time. It was a sandbox title where the player had little direction or meaningful goals. Instead, you were encouraged to simply live your life in the Star Wars universe and forge your own path.
The game had few dungeons and offered little reward for PvP or PvE content. Also, each of the game’s ten massive explorable planets was mostly empty. Sure, some players could take up a blaster and start slaying random creatures for materials and experience points. But it was equally viable to follow the path of the Entertainer, singing or dancing in cantinas across the galaxy while socializing with other players.
Every one of the game’s 28 classes contributed to the player-driven economy in some way. Gaining credits and prestige in the galaxy meant you could build houses and own property in player-built cities. You could even run for mayor of one of these cities and dictate civic policies. There truly was no other game like it at the time, and therein lay the problem.
Though unique, it was far from what many Star Wars fans expected. Despite early popularity, the game eventually stagnated and lost subscribers. To reverse this trend, the developers began rolling out drastic redesigns over the first few years of Galaxies’ existence.
If you want to play on a private server now, it’s important to understand what era of the game you want to play, as well as which servers have modified rule sets:
- Pre-CU (Classic): The original sandbox version that offered the most freedom and player-driven systems.
- Combat Upgrade (CU): A short-lived balance patch that streamlined combat and introduced leveling.
- New Game Enhancement (NGE): A complete overhaul that shifted gameplay toward action-based combat and simplified classes.
The Classic: The Original Sandbox Experience
Known as “Pre-CU”, “Vanilla”, or “Classic”, these servers represent Star Wars Galaxies as closely to its original vision as possible. While beloved by former players, these servers feature rulesets that can be extremely daunting to modern gamers or people unfamiliar with the game. Unfortunately, they also lack the absolutely phenomenal “Jump to Lightspeed” expansion that added full space flight to the game. Still, if you’re a passionate fan of the original or someone with plenty of patience for jank, Pre-CU is worth checking out to experience one of the most unique online games ever made.
Join a classic era Star Wars Galaxies private server here
The Combat Upgrade: A Short-Lived Attempt at Balance
Also known as the CU, few servers are running this ruleset because it existed for only a short period of time. The CU attempted to balance Galaxies’ notoriously complex combat by streamlining abilities and introducing a traditional leveling system. Personally, I found the CU to be the best mix of classic Galaxies and a more structured progression system. Unfortunately, it never quite found its footing before the next update completely overhauled the game.
Join a Combat Upgrade private server here
The NGE: Star Wars Galaxies’ Most Controversial Overhaul
Known as the “New Game Enhancement”, or NGE, this update is notorious for its devastating impact on the game. It’s the only MMO update I know of that earned a New York Times article because it completely overhauled the game. Released shortly after Galaxies‘ last paid expansion, the update was so controversial that threats of a class-action lawsuit forced the developer to offer refunds. SOE founder and CEO John Smedly calls the NGE the absolutely worst mistake of his career.
But is it really that bad? Eh. It’s complicated.
The NGE dramatically changed Galaxies‘ timer-based combat into a real-time action system where players had to point and shoot like a first-person shooter (FPS). The game’s complicated class and skill system was reduced to nine “iconic” classes. Instead of allowing players to build a life and live freely in the Star Wars universe, they now followed a simple linear storyline as their characters leveled up, eventually joining other players at max level to tackle dungeons and end-game content. The result was a much more World of Warcraft-like experience.
Despite all this, the premiere and most populated Star Wars Galaxies server, one that routinely sees massive updates and new content, operates under this ruleset. It also includes the beloved “Jump to Lightspeed” expansion, so if your Star Wars fantasy involves hanging out in your own Millennium Falcon (that you can decorate) with friends, this is the server for you. It’s also great for players unfamiliar with Galaxies who may have cut their MMO teeth on modern games like WoW or FFXIV.
Join an NGE private server here
3. EverQuest Online Adventures
One of the more unique games on this list, EverQuest Online Adventures was an MMORPG exclusive to the PlayStation 2. It was released in 2003 and shuttered nine years later in March 2012.
Considered the younger brother of the hardcore classic PC MMORPG EverQuest, EverQuest Online Adventures simplified many of its sibling’s complex systems to create a more console-friendly experience. Set 500 years before the original EverQuest, players explore a reimagined Norrath, banding together to defeat enemies, level up, and raid dungeons. It’s all the classic MMO trappings but with a charmingly simplified interface meant to be played on a good ol’ PS2 Dualshock.
Everything about the game was meant to be simplified for console gamers, who at the time were perceived as having less time to commit to long play sessions. Ironically, playing the game today is quite tricky, given the once-simple setup of playing EverQuest on a PlayStation 2.
The simplest way to play is via PS2 emulators, but even that setup can be a bit much for inexperienced emulator gamers. The private server is actually playable on a PlayStation 2—an incredible technical feat—but this requires even more tinkering to pull off.
Still, EverQuest Online Adventures is a fascinating look at an attempt to simplify a genre that was seen as unapproachable and hardcore, a full year before World of Warcraft perfected the formula. And the game’s simple core game loop of killing, leveling, and gaining new gear is still perfectly addictive to this day. With controller-based gameplay, I actually find myself returning to this game time and time again when I want a simple MMO experience.
Join the EverQuest private server here
4. Earth Eternal
Another game that’s died and been reborn several times, Earth Eternal is best known for being a full 3D “World of Warcraft-life” mmorpg that was playable in a browser. Because the player characters consist mostly of anthropomorphic animals, the game has also attracted a following from a certain subculture, but the base gameplay is familiar to anyone who has played a modern MMO.
Released in 2009 by developer Sparkplay Media, Earth Eternal operated for about a year before it shuttered. It was obtained by Turner-TimeWarner shortly after, re-opening the following year as both Earth Eternal Reborn in the West and Ikimonogatari in Japan. Despite this second lease on life, the game was canceled again the following year. The game’s dedicated following soon spun up the private server Terra Aeterna, which is maintained to this day.
A Personal Note: This game has a special distinction as I, the author of this post, was the lead designer on it during the Reborn/Ikimonogatari years. So you should give it a shot based on that fact alone!
Join the Earth Eternal private server here
5. City of Heroes
Another beloved classic from the golden age of MMORPGs, City of Heroes set out to do something a bit different from the Sword and Sorcery or Sci-fi of its contemporaries. Set in the world of Paragon City, players created their own customized Super Hero (or Super Villain in one of the game’s incredible expansion packs) and set out to fight or create crime on the city streets.
As players leveled up, they’d unlock even more powerful superpowers, including super speed or even flight. Enemies were based on characters from classic comic books. Experienced players could even designate another player as a “sidekick,” and that sidekick would gain additional experience points when partied with them. The beloved game was developed by NCSoft and released in 2004, running until 2012.
In 2019, the source code for both the game and server was leaked onto the internet, and private servers began to flourish. Today, the most populated server is Homecoming. It has the unusual distinction of being officially endorsed by NCSoft, which means it obtained a license to continue to operate the beloved MMORPG.