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An online game is a
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...
that is either partially or primarily played through the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
or any other
computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including
PCs A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...
, consoles and mobile devices, and span many genres, including
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
s, strategy games, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). In 2019, revenue in the online games segment reached $16.9 billion, with $4.2 billion generated by China and $3.5 billion in the United States. Since 2010s, a common trend among online games has been operating them as games as a service, using monetization schemes such as loot boxes and battle passes as purchasable items atop freely-offered games. Unlike purchased retail games, online games have the problem of not being permanently playable, as they require special servers in order to function. The design of online games can range from simple text-based environments to the incorporation of complex graphics and virtual worlds. The existence of online components within a game can range from being minor features, such as an online leaderboard, to being part of core gameplay, such as directly playing against other players. Many online games create their own online communities, while other games, especially social games, integrate the players' existing real-life communities. Some online games can receive a massive influx of popularity due to many well-known Twitch streamers and YouTubers playing them. Online gaming has drastically increased the scope and size of video game culture. Online games have attracted players from a variety of ages, nationalities, and occupations. The online game content can also be studied in the scientific field, especially gamers' interactions within virtual societies in relation to the behavior and social phenomena of everyday life. As in other cultures, the community has developed a gamut of slang words or phrases that can be used for communication in or outside of games. Due to their growing online nature, modern video game slang overlaps heavily with
internet slang Internet slang (also called Internet shorthand, cyber-slang, netspeak, digispeak or chatspeak) is a non-standard or unofficial form of language used by people on the Internet to communicate to one another. An example of Internet slang is "LOL" m ...
, as well as
leet Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance ...
speak, with many words such " pwn" and " noob". Another term that was popularized by the video game community is the abbreviation " AFK" to refer to people who are not at the computer or paying attention. Other common abbreviations include "GL HF" which stands for "good luck, have fun," which is often said at the beginning of a match to show good sportsmanship. Likewise, at the end of a game, " GG" or "GG WP" may be said to congratulate the opponent, win or lose, on a "good game, well played". Many video games have also inspired internet memes and achieved a very large following online. The culture of online gaming sometimes faces criticisms for an environment that can promote
cyberbully Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital s ...
ing, violence, and
xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
. Some are also concerned about gaming addiction or social stigma. However, it has been argued that, since the players of an online game are strangers to each other and have limited communication, the individual player's experience in an online game is not necessarily different from playing with
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...
players.


History

The
history of online games Online games are video games played over a computer network. The evolution of these games parallels the evolution of computers and computer networking, with new technologies improving the essential functionality needed for playing video games on ...
dates back to the early days of packet-based computer networking in the 1970s, An early example of online games are MUDs, including the first, '' MUD1'', which was created in 1978 and originally confined to an internal network before becoming connected to
ARPANet The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
in 1980. Commercial games followed in the next decade, with '' Islands of Kesmai'', the first commercial online
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
, debuting in 1984, as well as more graphical games, such as the MSX LINKS action games in 1986, the
flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they re ...
''
Air Warrior ''Air Warrior'' was a multiplayer online combat flight simulation game launched by Kesmai in 1988. It was hosted on GEnie and used that service as a server for client software running on a variety of personal computers. It underwent continual imp ...
'' in 1987, and the Famicom Modem's online Go game in 1987.English translation by GlitterBerri
The rapid availability of the Internet in the 1990s led to an expansion of online games, with notable titles including '' Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds'' (1996), '' Quakeworld'' (1996), '' Ultima Online'' (1997), ''
Lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populat ...
'' (1998), ''
StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance a ...
'' (1998), '' Counter-Strike'' (1999) and '' EverQuest'' (1999). Video game consoles also began to receive online networking features, such as the Famicom Modem (1987), Sega Meganet (1990), Satellaview (1995), SegaNet (2000), PlayStation 2 (2000) and Xbox (2001). Following improvements in connection speeds, more recent developments include the popularization of new genres, such as social games, and new platforms, such as
mobile games A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone ( feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
. Entering into the 2000s, the cost of technology, servers and the Internet has dropped so far that fast Internet was commonplace, which led to previously unknown genres like massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) becoming well-known. For example, ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azer ...
'' (2004) dominated much of the decade. Several other MMOs attempted to follow in ''Warcraft''s footsteps, such as '' Star Wars Galaxies'', ''
City of Heroes ''City of Heroes'' (''CoH'') was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game which was developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSOFT. The game was launched in North America on April 28, 2004, and in Europe by NCsoft Europe on Febru ...
'', '' Wildstar'', '' Warhammer Online'', '' Guild Wars 2'', and '' Star Wars: The Old Republic'', but failed to make a significant impact in ''Warcraft''s market share. Over time, the MMORPG community has developed a sub-culture with its own slang and metaphors, as well as an unwritten list of social rules and taboos. Separately, a new type of online game came to popularity alongside ''World of Warcraft'', '' Defense of the Ancients'' (2003) which introduced the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) format. ''DotA'', a community-created mod based on '' Warcraft III'', gained in popularity as interest in ''World of Warcraft'' waned, but since the format was tied to the '' Warcraft'' property, others began to develop their own MOBAs, including ''
Heroes of Newerth ''Heroes of Newerth'' (''HoN'') was a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game originally developed by S2 Games for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The game idea was derived from the '' Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne'' custo ...
'' (2009), '' League of Legends'' (2010), and '' Dota 2'' (2013). Blizzard Entertainment, the owner of ''Warcraft'' property, released their own take on the MOBA genre with '' Heroes of the Storm'' (2015), emphasizing on numerous original heroes from ''Warcraft III'' and other Blizzard's franchises. By the early 2010s, the genre has become a big part of the esports category. During the last half of the 2010s, hero shooter, a variation of shooter games inspired by multiplayer online battle arena and older class-based shooters, had a substantial rise in popularity with the release of '' Battleborn'' and ''
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fe ...
'' in 2016''.'' The genre continued to grow with games such as ''
Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, whe ...
'' (2018) and '' Valorant'' (2020). A battle royale game format became widely popular with the release of '' PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'' (2017), '' Fortnite Battle Royale'' (2017), and '' Apex Legends'' (2019). Popularity of the genre continued in 2020s with the release of the '' Call of Duty: Warzone'' (2020). Each game has received tens of millions of players within months of their releases.


Demographics

The assumption that online games in general are populated mostly by males has remained somewhat accurate for years. Recent statistics begin to diminish the male domination myth in gaming culture. Although a worldwide number of male gamers still dominates over female (52% by 48%), women accounted for more than half of the players of certain games. As of 2019, the average gamer is 33 years old. The report Online Game Market Forecasts estimates worldwide revenue from online games to reach $35 billion by 2017, up from $19 billion in 2011.


Platforms


Console gaming

Xbox Live was launched in November 2002. Initially the console only used a feature called system link, where players could connect two consoles using an Ethernet cable, or multiple consoles through a router. With the original Xbox Microsoft launched Xbox Live, allowing shared play over the internet. A similar feature exists on the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
in the form of the PlayStation Network, and the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...
also supports a limited amount of online gaming. Nintendo also has a network, dubbed "
Nintendo Network The Nintendo Network is Nintendo's online service which provides online functionality for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems and their compatible games. Announced on January 26, 2012 at an investors' conference, it is Nintendo's second online s ...
", that fully supports online gaming with the
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. ...
and Nintendo 3DS.


Browser games

As the World Wide Web developed and browsers became more sophisticated, people started creating browser games that used a
web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used o ...
as a client. Simple single player games were made that could be played using a web browser (most commonly made with web technologies like
HTML The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaS ...
,
JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior, of ...
, ASP, PHP and
MySQL MySQL () is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Its name is a combination of "My", the name of co-founder Michael Widenius's daughter My, and "SQL", the acronym for Structured Query Language. A relational database ...
). The development of web-based graphics technologies such as Flash and
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...
allowed browser games to become more complex. These games, also known by their related technology as " Flash games" or "Java games", became increasingly popular. Games ranged from simple concepts to large-scale games, some of which were later released on consoles. Many Java or Flash games were shared on various different websites, bringing them to wide audiences. Browser-based pet games are popular among the younger generation of online gamers. These games range from gigantic games with millions of users, such as '' Neopets'', to smaller and more community-based pet games. More recent browser-based games use web technologies like Ajax to make more complicated multiplayer interactions possible and WebGL to generate hardware-accelerated 3D graphics without the need for plugins.


Types of interactions


Player versus environment (PvE)

PvE is a term used in online games, particularly MMORPGs and other role-playing video games, to refer to fighting computer-controlled opponents.


Player versus player (PvP)

PvP is a term broadly used to describe any game, or aspect of a game, where players compete against each other rather than against computer-controlled opponents.


Online games


First-person shooter game (FPS)

During the 1990s, online games started to move from a wide variety of
LAN Lan or LAN may also refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in spa ...
protocols (such as IPX) and onto the Internet using the
TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the su ...
protocol. ''
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...
'' popularized the concept of a deathmatch, where multiple players battle each other head-to-head, as a new form of online game. Since Doom, many first-person shooter games contain online components to allow deathmatch or arena style play. And by popularity, first person shooter games are becoming more and more widespread around the world. As games became more realistic and competitive, an e-sports community was born. Games like '' Counter-Strike'', '' Halo'', '' Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare'', '' Quake Live'' and '' Unreal Tournament'' are popular with these tournaments''.'' These tournaments have a range of winnings from money to hardware. Expansion of hero shooters, a sub-genre of
shooter game Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...
s, happened in 2016 when several developers released or announced their hero shooter multiplayer online game. Hero shooters have been considered to have strong potential as an esport, as a large degree of skill and coordination arises from the importance of teamwork. Some notable examples include '' Battleborn'', ''
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fe ...
'', ''
Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, whe ...
'' and '' Valorant''.


Real-time strategy game (RTS)

Early real-time strategy games often allowed multiplayer play over a modem or local network. As the Internet started to grow during the 1990s, software was developed that would allow players to tunnel the LAN protocols used by the games over the Internet. By the late 1990s, most RTS games had native Internet support, allowing players from all over the globe to play with each other. Popular RTS games with online communities have included ''
Age of Empires ''Age of Empires'' is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first game was '' Age of Empires'', released in 1997. Nine total games within the se ...
'', '' Sins of a Solar Empire'', ''
StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance a ...
'' and '' Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War''.


Massively multiplayer online game (MMO)

Massively multiplayer online games were made possible with the growth of broadband Internet access in many developed countries, using the Internet to allow hundreds of thousands of players to play the same game together. Many different styles of massively multiplayer games are available, such as: * MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
) *
MMORTS Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game (MMORTS) mixes the genres of real-time strategy and massively multiplayer online games, possibly in the form of web browser-based games, in which a very large number of players interact with on ...
(Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy) *
MMOFPS A massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game (MMOFPS) is an online game which mixes the genres of first-person shooter and massively multiplayer online game. A MMOFPS is a real-time shooter experience where a very large number of player ...
(Massively multiplayer online
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
) *
MMOSG A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...
(Massively multiplayer online social game)


Multiplayer online battle arena game (MOBA)

A specific subgenre of strategy video games referred to as multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) gained popularity in the 2010s as a form of
electronic sports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although o ...
, encompassing games such as the '' Defense of the Ancients'' mod for '' Warcraft III'', '' League of Legends'', '' Dota 2'', '' Smite,'' and '' Heroes of the Storm.'' Major esports professional tournaments are held in venues that can hold tens of thousands of spectators and are streamed online to millions more. A strong fanbase has opened up the opportunity for sponsorship and advertising, eventually leading the genre to become a global cultural phenomenon.


Battle Royale games

A battle royale game is a genre that blends the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game with last-man-standing gameplay. Dozens to hundreds of players are involved in each match, with the winner being the last player or team alive. Some notable examples include '' PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'', '' Fortnite Battle Royale'', '' Apex Legends,'' and '' Call of Duty: Warzone,'' each having received tens of millions of players within months of their releases. The genre is designed exclusively for multiplayer gameplay over the Internet.


MUD

MUD are a class of multi-user real-time virtual worlds, usually but not exclusively text-based, with a history extending back to the creation of '' MUD1'' by Richard Bartle in 1978. MUD were the direct predecessors of MMORPG.


Other notable games

A social deduction game is a multiplayer online game in which players attempt to uncover each other's hidden role or team allegiance using logic and deductive reasoning, while other players can bluff to keep players from suspecting them. A notable example of the social deduction video game is '' Among Us,'' which received a massive influx of popularity in 2020 due to many well-known Twitch streamers and YouTubers playing it. ''Among Us'' has also inspired internet memes and achieved a very large following online.


Online game governance

Online gamers must agree to an End-user license agreement (EULA) when they first install the game application or an update. EULA is a legal contract between the producer or distributor and the end-user of an application or software, which is to prevent the program from being copied, redistributed or hacked. The consequences of breaking the agreement vary according to the contract. Players could receive warnings to termination, or direct termination without warning. In the 3D immersive world ''
Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fr ...
'' where a breach of contract will append the player warnings, suspension and termination depending on the offense. Where online games supports an in-game chat feature, it is not uncommon to encounter hate speech, sexual harassment and cyberbullying. Players, developers, gaming companies, and professional observers are discussing and developing tools which discourage antisocial behavior.Alt URL
/ref> There are also sometimes Moderators present, who attempt to prevent anti-Social behavior. Recent development of gaming governance requires all video games (including online games) to hold a rating label. The voluntary rating system was established by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). A scale can range from "E" (stands for Everyone) inferring games that are suitable for both children and adults, to "M" (stands for Mature) recommending games that are restricted to age above 17. Some explicit online games can be rated "AO" (stands for Adult Only), identifying games that have content suitable for only adults over the age of 18. Furthermore, online games must also carry an ESRB notice that warns that any "online interactions are not rated by the ESRB".


Shutdown of games

The video game industry is highly competitive. As a result, many online games end up not generating enough profits, such that the service providers do not have the incentives to continue running the servers. In such cases, the developers of a game might decide to shut down the server permanently. Shutting down an online game can severely impact the players. Typically, a server shutdown means players will no longer be able to play the game. For many players, this can cause a sense of loss at an emotional level, since they often dedicate time and effort to making in-game progress, e.g., completing in-game tasks to earn items for their characters. In some other cases, the game might still be playable without the server, but certain important functionalities will be lost. For example, earning key in-game items often requires a server that can track each player's progress. In some cases, an online game may be relaunched in a substantially different form after shutting down, in an attempt to increase the game's quality, remedy low sales, or reverse a declining player base, and see significantly greater success. ''Final Fantasy XIV'' was negatively received upon its 2010 release, and relaunched as '' A Realm Reborn'' in 2013 - the new version was met with considerable positive reception, and is still running as of 2022. ''Splitgate: Arena Warfare'' relaunched as '' Splitgate'' in 2021, switching to a free-to-play model and adding cross-platform multiplayer, and subsequently saw 2 million new players, with the servers being unable to handle the influx. However, games may remain a commercial failure despite a planned relaunch. These include the 2015 asymmetrical
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
'' Evolve'', which transitioned to a free-to-play title known as ''Evolve Stage 2'' a year after launch, after it was criticized for its significant amount of DLC despite being a full-priced game, but had its servers permanently shut down roughly two years later after its user base "evaporated" as a result of infrequent updates. The 2019 looter-shooter '' Anthem'' was also planned to be relaunched as ''Anthem Next'', but the changes were never implemented, partially due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and an unwillingness to further invest in the game by ''
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
'', and it was permanently shut down.


See also

*
List of video game genres A video game genre is a specific category of games related by similar gameplay characteristics. Video game genres are not usually defined by the setting or story of the game or its medium of play, but by the way the player interacts with the ga ...
* Game server * Massively multiplayer online game * Multiplayer video game * Online text-based role-playing game *
Voice chat in online gaming Voice chat is telecommunication via voice over IP technologies—especially when those technologies are used among players in multiplayer online games. Users might use either a VoIP engine system that is built into the game, or a separate pro ...


References

{{Authority control Video game terminology