Meridian 59
Meridian 59 is a 3D fantasy MMORPG with a real claim to history, it is among the earliest graphical online worlds to bring MUD-style roleplaying into a 3D space. At its core, it is a social, faction-driven game built around dangerous exploration, old-school character building, and a world where other players can be as threatening as the monsters.
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Publisher: The 3DO Company, Near Death Studios Playerbase: Low Type: F2P 3D MMORPG Release Date: September 27, 1996 Pros: +A welcoming, tight-knit community that helps newcomers. +Authentic classic mechanics that feel closer to a MUD than a modern theme park MMO. Cons: -Visuals and presentation show their age. -Progression can feel repetitive and time-consuming. |
Meridian 59 Overview
Meridian 59 arriving on Steam made it easier to revisit one of the genre’s foundational experiments in online roleplaying. While the game is often described as the first 3D graphical MMORPG, what stands out today is how strongly it commits to player choice and consequence. You are not pushed down a scripted path, you carve out a reputation through your build, your allies, and the risks you are willing to take.
Character development leans into flexibility. Instead of locking you into a rigid class track, you allocate stats and develop skills to match your preferred approach. That can mean a straightforward melee bruiser, a spellcaster who softens targets before closing in, or a hybrid that mixes weapon play with magic. The result is a sandbox-like feel where experimentation and community advice matter, especially as you learn what works in PvE and what survives in PvP.
Speaking of PvP, Meridian 59 is unapologetically open. Players can fight other players broadly throughout the world, and safety is not guaranteed outside limited secure areas. Becoming a known killer can paint a target on your back, but it is also part of the game’s social ecosystem, where reputation, retaliation, and politics create stories that are not hand-authored by the developers.
Death is another major pillar. Losing a fight can be costly, including the possibility of dropping hard-earned gear and taking a hit to your skill proficiency. That harsh edge is exactly what many fans come for, it makes group play meaningful and makes every excursion feel like it has stakes. It also means that making friends, joining alliances, and coordinating with others is not just optional flavor, it is often the difference between a successful run and a painful setback.
Meridian 59 Key Features:
- Classic MUD-Style Gameplay – captures the feel of older command-driven online RPGs, but presented with a visible interface and 3D world.
- Open Class System – build your character through stats and skills, enabling unusual hybrids (for example, a blade-focused mage or a fighter with supportive magic).
- Death Has A Price – defeat can mean losing items and equipment, plus a reduction in skill proficiency that makes survival and recovery a real concern.
- Make Friends And Allies – grouping and social ties matter for quests, difficult enemies, and even retrieving your belongings after a bad death.
- Open PvP World – PvP can happen broadly across the map, with consequences for player killers and only limited safe areas to rely on.
Meridian 59 Screenshots
Meridian 59 Featured Video
Meridian 59 Review
Meridian 59 feels like a snapshot of MMO design before modern conventions solidified, and that is both its greatest strength and its biggest barrier. Moment to moment, the game is about careful pulls, learning where danger spikes, and deciding how much you trust the people around you. It is not trying to be a guided theme park, it is closer to an online roleplaying sandbox where the community supplies a lot of the direction.
Combat and progression are straightforward in concept, but demanding in practice. You improve by using skills and steadily building competence, which creates a satisfying sense of growth over time, but also introduces a grind that can feel repetitive if you are accustomed to more curated questing loops. The pacing is slow enough that social play becomes the glue, chatting, planning, and grouping often matter as much as raw efficiency.
The open class system is still one of the more interesting parts of the experience. Because you are not forced into a single archetype, you can shape a character that fits your style, and the game’s age means players have had years to discover workable builds and counterplay. If you enjoy tinkering and learning from others, Meridian 59 rewards that mindset.
The PvP ruleset gives the world its tension. The possibility of being attacked changes how you travel, when you bank valuables, and who you decide to trust. The flip side is that it can be rough on new or solo players, particularly when you are still learning the map and systems. This is where the community reputation comes in, the game is known for having helpful veterans, and leaning on that knowledge makes the early experience significantly smoother.
Where Meridian 59 struggles today is presentation and friction. The visuals are unmistakably dated, and even with later improvements, it is still an old game with old UI expectations. If you approach it as a living museum piece that also happens to be playable, the charm comes through. If you expect modern onboarding, fast travel conveniences, and constant rewards, it will feel harsh.
Overall, Meridian 59 is best suited for players who want to experience MMO history firsthand, enjoy high-stakes rules, and value emergent social stories over polished spectacle. It remains compelling not because it is modern, but because it is uncompromising.
Meridian 59 Links
Meridian 59 Official Site
Meridian 59 Reddit
Meridian 59 Steam Page
Meridian 59 Wiki
Meridian 59 Wikipedia Page
Meridian 59 System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 2000
CPU:Pentium 2
Video Card: Any 3D Card
RAM: 256 MB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 350 MB
*Meridian 59 is a very old game that can run on any modern PC with a Windows operating system.
Meridian 59 Music & Soundtrack
Coming soon!
Meridian 59 Additional Information
Developer: Archetype Interactive
Publisher: The 3DO Company, Near Death Studios
Platforms: PC
Release Dates:
Alpha Release: December 15, 1995
Beta Release: April 1996
Official Launch: September 27, 1996
Freeware Release: September 15, 2012
Steam Launch: August 28, 2018
Development History / Background:
Meridian 59 is a 3D fantasy-themed MMORPG created by Archetype Interactive and published by The 3DO Company, and it stands out as the only release the studio ever shipped. The team behind it included Andrew Kirmse, Chris Kirmse, Steve Sellers, Mike Sellers, and John Hanke, who later went on to help found Niantic. The project first appeared publicly in an alpha on December 15, 1995, then moved into a beta period in April 1996. In June 1996, 3DO acquired Archetype for $5 million in stock, and the game reached its official launch on September 27, 1996, about a year ahead of Ultima Online.
After years of operation, 3DO shut down Meridian 59’s servers on August 31, 2000. The game returned in 2002 under Near Death Studios, co-founded by original developer Rob Ellis, helping keep the world alive for a new era of players. Later, the Evolution expansion launched in October 2014 and brought meaningful technical upgrades such as a new rendering engine, mouselook, rebindable keys, dynamic lighting, and other improvements to the game’s visual presentation.
Near Death Studios ended operations on January 6, 2010, after which Meridian 59 was handed back to Andrew and Chris Kirmse in February 2010. Support continued, and the original developers ultimately released the game as freeware on September 15, 2012. Meridian 59 later launched on Steam on August 28, 2018, and it is widely regarded as one of the longest-running online roleplaying games still available.