The text-based Zombie MMO Urban Dead is closing just shy of its 20th anniversary due to the introduction of new UK online safety laws.
The Zombie MMO Urban Dead has been running since July 2005.
The free-to-play browser-based MMO will be shutting down later this month on March 14. If you want to play it before it shuts down, you can head over to the official website.
The developer, Kevan Davis, put out a statement on the game’s website, which you can read here.
“Sad to have to announce that Urban Dead will be closing down on Friday 14 March 2025, due to an upcoming change in UK website legislation,” wrote Davis.
“The Online Safety Act comes into force later this month, applying to all social and gaming websites where users interact,” explained Davis.
“With the possibility of heavy corporate-sized fines even for solo web projects like this one, I’ve reluctantly concluded that it doesn’t look feasible for Urban Dead to be able to keep continuing.”
This is a massive blow to video game history and digital archiving. Although the game’s wiki will still be online, the MMO itself won’t be accessible or playable in any way.
Davis left a sobering message to the remaining players as part of the statement.
“19 years, 8 months, and 11 days after its quarantine began, Urban Dead will be shut down. No grand finale. No final catastrophe. No helicopter evac. Make your peace or your final stand in whichever part of Malton you called home, and the game will be switched off at noon UTC on 14 March.”
Davis did leave a glimmer of hope, however, stating that if the MMO was ever revived or spun off in any way, it’ll be announced on the website.
This news is incredibly disheartening. This was one of my favourite games growing up, and really helped foster my love for interactive fiction.
It is also a huge blow to the MMO community and gaming history. If you’re looking for other supernatural text-based games to fill the Urban Dead-sized hole, we recommend checking out the new Hunter: The Reckoning interactive fiction novel.
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