MMOs can enable players to compete with and against each other on a grand scale, and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world. Most MMOs require players to invest large amounts of their time into the game. Many MMOs can be played for free on the internet such as: RuneScape, Shadowbane, Silkroad Online, and Renaissance Kingdoms.
MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) is a genre of onlinerole-playing video games in which a large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world. As in all RPGs, players assume the role of a fictional character (most commonly in a fantasy setting) and take control over many of that character's actions. MMORPGs are distinguished from single-player or small multi-player RPGs by the number of players, and by the game's persistent world, usually hosted by the game's publisher, which continues to exist and evolve while the player is away from the game.
MMORPGs are very popular throughout the world, with combined global memberships in subscription and non-subscription games exceeding 15 million as of 2006. Overall, revenues for MMORPGs exceeded half a billion dollars in 2005 and are expected to reach over a billion dollars by 2009.