MMO

MMO stands for massively multiplayer online. In an MMO, hundreds or thousands of players can be in the same world at once, meeting, trading, teaming up and sometimes fighting. The world is persistent: it carries on running on the developer’s servers when you log off, and your character’s progress is stored online rather than on your device.

The most familiar type is the MMORPG, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, in which you create a character, complete quests and grow stronger over a long period. The term MMORPG is credited to Richard Garriott, who used it in 1997, the year Ultima Online launched. There are also MMO shooters, survival games, racing games and more.

How MMOs are structured

Most MMOs mix solo play with group activities. You might quest alone, then join others for a dungeon, a large raid or player-versus-player battles. Social structures such as guilds or clans help regular players organise. Because the world must last for years, MMOs receive ongoing updates and expansions, and many are funded by subscriptions, cosmetic shops or a mix of both.

A strong social side is one of the genre’s draws: friendships formed in MMOs can last for years. The flip side is that progress often depends on regular play and coordination with others.

What families should check

Before letting a child join an MMO, look at three things: the payment model (subscription, free-to-play or one-off), the chat and friend settings, and how much the game rewards long daily sessions. Platform parental controls can limit spending and contact with strangers, and setting them up before the first log-in is easiest. It also helps to play alongside a child for the first session or two, so you can see how grouping, chat and the in-game shop work in practice.