Check out Ephinea Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, old game with a fan base so dedicated that they literally started their own server(s) so that they can continue to play their beloved game.
Fallen Earth. They announced the second game and closed the servers back in the day, but reopened them and now it is completely free and all the "shop" things are completely removed. There is a small loyal fanbase that consists of veterans that came back for nostalgia and some newcomers.
I got really surprised myself when they announced that they will reopen the servers for people to just enjoy the game and without any paid content this time. Got back to shoot some things and make an atv from scrap again. Had some great time, game is still good. Hope that they will finish Fallen Earth 2 one day, been a few years since they announced it.
I have a very distinct memory of reading some youtube comments on an mmohut video in like 2010, arguing about what is and is not an MMOFPS, and someone mentioned Fallen Earth. I thought it looked so cool but i never played because my laptop couldnt run it. May have to check it out tbh
DC Universe Online still has quite a large fan base, and lately, I think they made all content free, except for powers, those are the only DLC you can buy now I think.
Soldat still has people playing, and it's on steam; its creator made King Arthur's Gold and same story, its playerbase is way more toxic than the first however. Both are free on Steam.
Oh man i forgot that game existed, was super into it for like 50 hours or so. Cant believe people still play it when gta 5 is easily obtained for like $5
Tribes 2 needs a re-release. They could literally just make it widescreen and compatible with modern systems and there would be at least 5000 regular players I’d bet.
One of my favourite pastimes is installing games from my pre-adolescence, so those in the late '90s, and checking out how their online communities are faring right now. It's surprising how the fanbases are still holding out, even if some are really really small.
Some of those worth mentioning are:
- Giants: Citizen Kabuto
- Sacrifice
- the Starsiege: Tribes series
- NetStorm: Islands at War
- ReVolt
- Battlezone 1998 and Battlezone 2
- Heretic and Hexen series
- Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (although this one still has a huge community, so it doesn't really meet your requirements)
- Dark Reign series
- Star Wars: Jedi Academy
And these are only on the top of my head: all with small tight-knit communities found on Discord.
You can also find old games to join Game Ranger - sometimes I check that out too. You can even join a match of the first Rainbow Six game.
Good luck, I hope this post will help ya.
Yes same here, every now and then I'll just install some old games I used to play and just mess around and chat with people for a couple hours and then uninstall lol ill take a look at these, ive somewhat recently tried tribes 2 and jedi academy already and am always surprised to see people still playing
Hawken is basically this. I tried it and it didn’t click but maybe give it a shot.
If you want really old, Ultima Online Forever is still kickin’ to my knowledge.
Love this topic. One of my favorite small fan base games is Contagion.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/238430/Contagion/
It's a slow-paced multiplayer zombie shooter. I never played Resident Evil Outbreak and I always thought this game was kinda' similar. There always seems to be a game or two happening. It's on sale for $3.99 right now!
Another game, a sorta' spiritual predecessor was No More Room in Hell. Way more popular than Contagion but I haven't played much of it.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/224260/No_More_Room_in_Hell/
Check out Ephinea Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, old game with a fan base so dedicated that they literally started their own server(s) so that they can continue to play their beloved game.
Fallen Earth. They announced the second game and closed the servers back in the day, but reopened them and now it is completely free and all the "shop" things are completely removed. There is a small loyal fanbase that consists of veterans that came back for nostalgia and some newcomers.
Man I remember hearing about this game way back when, surprised its still around!
I got really surprised myself when they announced that they will reopen the servers for people to just enjoy the game and without any paid content this time. Got back to shoot some things and make an atv from scrap again. Had some great time, game is still good. Hope that they will finish Fallen Earth 2 one day, been a few years since they announced it.
I have a very distinct memory of reading some youtube comments on an mmohut video in like 2010, arguing about what is and is not an MMOFPS, and someone mentioned Fallen Earth. I thought it looked so cool but i never played because my laptop couldnt run it. May have to check it out tbh
Well, giving it a try won't hurt. It is on steam now and weights like 6 gb which is almost nothing by modern standarts.
Sounds like worlds.com
DC Universe Online still has quite a large fan base, and lately, I think they made all content free, except for powers, those are the only DLC you can buy now I think.
Soldat still has people playing, and it's on steam; its creator made King Arthur's Gold and same story, its playerbase is way more toxic than the first however. Both are free on Steam.
Oooh i loved this game back in the day, i do remember when it came on steam but i didn't try it out, will have to take a look
I don’t think Soldat holds up but maybe that’s just me.
Oh yeah I doubt it but I just like playing old nostalgic games periodically, i doubt ill like get into it
SOLDAT man you did not even just say that name
APB has been on its deathbed for a decade now, still refuses to die.
Oh man i forgot that game existed, was super into it for like 50 hours or so. Cant believe people still play it when gta 5 is easily obtained for like $5
Planetside 2 is over 10 years old and still has thousands of players.
The Tribes games still have a cult following, I played some multiplayer rounds in Tribes:Ascend within the past month.
Yeah I tried out Tribes 2 a year ago and was able to find a match actually, I'm surprised anyone is on Ascend (even though it was lowkey my favorite).
Tribes 2 needs a re-release. They could literally just make it widescreen and compatible with modern systems and there would be at least 5000 regular players I’d bet.
Maybe Plants Vs Zombies Battle for Neighborville? Last I checked it’s 90% bots with 1-4 humans per game
One of my favourite pastimes is installing games from my pre-adolescence, so those in the late '90s, and checking out how their online communities are faring right now. It's surprising how the fanbases are still holding out, even if some are really really small. Some of those worth mentioning are: - Giants: Citizen Kabuto - Sacrifice - the Starsiege: Tribes series - NetStorm: Islands at War - ReVolt - Battlezone 1998 and Battlezone 2 - Heretic and Hexen series - Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (although this one still has a huge community, so it doesn't really meet your requirements) - Dark Reign series - Star Wars: Jedi Academy And these are only on the top of my head: all with small tight-knit communities found on Discord. You can also find old games to join Game Ranger - sometimes I check that out too. You can even join a match of the first Rainbow Six game. Good luck, I hope this post will help ya.
Yes same here, every now and then I'll just install some old games I used to play and just mess around and chat with people for a couple hours and then uninstall lol ill take a look at these, ive somewhat recently tried tribes 2 and jedi academy already and am always surprised to see people still playing
Anarchy online
Played this a bunch like 15 years ago, honestly very sad how few people play it because its a great game
Hawken is basically this. I tried it and it didn’t click but maybe give it a shot. If you want really old, Ultima Online Forever is still kickin’ to my knowledge.
Love this topic. One of my favorite small fan base games is Contagion. https://store.steampowered.com/app/238430/Contagion/ It's a slow-paced multiplayer zombie shooter. I never played Resident Evil Outbreak and I always thought this game was kinda' similar. There always seems to be a game or two happening. It's on sale for $3.99 right now! Another game, a sorta' spiritual predecessor was No More Room in Hell. Way more popular than Contagion but I haven't played much of it. https://store.steampowered.com/app/224260/No_More_Room_in_Hell/