"I've had this idea for 25 years": Solo dev behind single-player MMO with fake simulated players insists "I do not plan to add multiplayer" as it soars on Steam

The oxymoronic single-player MMO Erenshor, which has slowly been becoming a Steam superstar since 2023, will likely never be any less of an enigma – and that's a great thing. The Truman's Show spin on games like Runescape and World of Warcraft won't get multiplayer anytime soon, its solo developer says, and proudly strange games get to see another day.

"I do not plan to add multiplayer," Burgee Media said succinctly during a recent Reddit AMA. Also in the thread, they tell people it's "unlikely" they'd be able to implement local multiplayer, either, and the same goes for co-op.

Erenshor "was designed from the ground up for single player (also meaning it wasn't designed with any networking in mind)," Burgee Media explains. "Modders have already sworn to do it, and good luck to them."

As the Early Access title collects more Very Positive Steam reviews, more players seem to be getting the familiar itch to vanquish its lakeside dragons with a knightly pal, the way they would in more traditional fantasy MMORPGs.

But Burgee Media seems uninterested in "traditional" – it's too inconvenient.

"I've had this idea for 25 years," the developer says on Reddit. "Since I was 14 and couldn't play Everquest with friends, because it was too laggy."

"We only emulate the good bits around here," they joke. Ultimately, Erenshor is a strange and innovative addition to the monolithic realm of adventuring MMOs, and the genre is better for it.

"Found a new game I didn't know I wanted," says an apt Reddit comment.

Erenshor, the 'MMORPG' with fake players that's not actually an MMO at all, gets an imminent release date.