Post
From text-based MUDs on university servers to 100-million-player battle royales, the internet rewired gaming forever.
Online gaming evolved in waves. MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) in the late 80s let players explore text worlds together over dial-up. The 90s brought Quake's online deathmatches and Ultima Online's persistent world. But the real inflection point was Xbox Live launching in 2002 with Halo 2, making online multiplayer dead simple on consoles. Suddenly your couch buddy could be across the country. Broadband adoption turned online play from a niche PC thing into the default way people experienced games.
Example
Halo 2 on Xbox Live (2004) popularized matchmaking, voice chat, and friend lists on consoles. It created the template that every online console game still follows, from party systems to ranked playlists.
Why it matters
Online connectivity transformed games from products into services. It enabled everything from esports to live-service monetization to the social gaming experiences that dominate today. Games that don't consider online are now the exception, not the rule.
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