Two years after operator GameTap shut the servers down, Myst Online: Uru Live is back in action and free to play, thanks to original developer Cyan Worlds.
Myst Online: Uru Live was originally intended to be the online multiplayer component of Cyan Worlds' Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, but that never quite worked out. The online portion missed the 2003 release of the PC game, and by April 2004 had been scrapped entirely. Then video game digital delivery service GameTap resurrected the multiplayer in 2007, only to shut it down again in February 2008.
With me so far?
In July of 2008, GameTap passed the rights to Myst Online: Uru Live back to Cyan Worlds, who then launched M.O.R.E.: The Myst Online Restoration Experiment, aiming for a release later that year, with a subscription rate of $25 for six months to help cover fees.
They may have missed that release window, but the fans are better for it. Myst Online: Uru Live is now back up, with Cyan Worlds operating their own server, allowing players to enter the world and play for free.
Mind you, you might want to wait until the rush dies down a bit before attempting to create your account, as the official website warns:
The web server is currently being hammered by a lot of people (thank you!), which unfortunately means that the account creation page is a tad sluggish right now. If the site doesn't allow you to create an account right now, please wait a little while and try again. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
That's the good sort of network congestion. Good to have you back, Myst Online! Hope you stay awhile this time.
Play Myst Online: Uru Live [Official Website - Thanks Taylor!]