What was the first multiplayer game in history?
Fast answer first. Then use the tabs or video for more detail.
- Watch the video explanation below for a faster overview.
- Game mechanics may change with updates or patches.
- Use this block to get the short answer without scrolling the whole page.
- Read the FAQ section if the article has one.
- Use the table of contents to jump straight to the detailed section you need.
- Watch the video first, then skim the article for specifics.
The first multiplayer game in history is a matter of debate among gamers and historians, but the most widely recognized contender is Tennis for Two, a simple tennis-like game developed in 1958 by physicist William Higinbotham at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, which was played on an oscilloscope. This early multiplayer game paved the way for the development of more complex multiplayer games in the years to come, including Pong, Spacewar!, and Astro Race, which are considered some of the first conventional multiplayer videogames.
History of Multiplayer Games
Early Beginnings
The concept of multiplayer gaming has been around for decades, with the first multiplayer games emerging in the 1960s and 1970s. These early games were played on mainframe computers and arcade machines, and were often simple games such as tennis or space combat.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the oldest game that still has multiplayer? The oldest game that still has multiplayer is Avalon: The Legend Lives, which was first released in 1989 and is still active today.
- What was the first game to have online multiplayer? The first game to have online multiplayer was BITNET, which was developed in 1984 and allowed players to connect to a world-wide computer network.
- What is the world’s first game? The world’s first game is believed to be mancala, which has its roots in ancient Africa and dates back to around 6000 BCE.
- What was the first online multiplayer console game? The first online multiplayer console game was Starcraft, which was released in 1998 for the PC and allowed players to compete against each other online.
- Who made the first online multiplayer game? The first online multiplayer game was Islands of Kesmai, which was developed by CompuServe in 1984 and was a commercial multiplayer online role-playing game.
- When was multiplayer gaming invented? Multiplayer gaming was first developed in the 1970s, with the first multiplayer games emerging on the PLATO system in 1973.
- What was the first God game? The first God game was Populous, which was developed by Peter Molyneux and released in 1989.
- What is the first famous game? The first famous game is Atari’s Pong, which was released in 1972 and is considered one of the first successful arcade video games.
- What was the first 3D game? The first 3D game was Battlezone, which was released in 1980 and was a tank combat game.
- Was the first Xbox online? The first Xbox was not online when it was first released in 2001, but Xbox Live was launched in 2002 and allowed players to connect to the internet and play against each other online.
- What was the first MMORPG? The first MMORPG was Neverwinter Nights, which was released in 1991 and was a graphical MMORPG that allowed players to interact with each other in a virtual world.
- What is the oldest game still played? The oldest game still played is Senet, which dates back to ancient Egypt and is still played today in some parts of the world.
- What is the oldest game character? The oldest game character is Pac-Man, which was created in 1980 and is still recognizable today.
- How old is the oldest video game player? The oldest video game player is Hamako Mori, who is also known as Gamer Grandma and is still playing video games at the age of 90.
- What is the most sold video game in history? The best-selling video game of all time is Tetris, which has sold over 520 million copies worldwide and is still widely played today.