Ludography
Neocron cover

2002 · Cyberpunk · Fighting

Neocron

Neocron is a 2002 post-apocalyptic cyberpunk massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) developed by Reakktor Media GmbH (based in Hannover, Germany) and published by cdv Software Entertainment. It is considered the first cyberpunk-genre MMORPG, and is designed to integrate elements of first-person shooter games.

Released
1 November 2002
Platforms
LinuxWindows
Genres
CyberpunkFightingMMORPGPost-apocalypticRole-playingShooter
Developers
—
Publishers
cdv Software Entertainment10tacle Studios
Series
Neocron
Perspective
First personThird person
Themes
ActionScience fictionOpen world
Country
Germany
Age ratings
ESRB MUSK 12
Languages
English, German
Time to beat
99999hcompletionist

About

Neocron is a 2002 post-apocalyptic cyberpunk massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) developed by Reakktor Media GmbH (based in Hannover, Germany) and published by cdv Software Entertainment. It is considered to be the first cyberpunk-genre MMORPG, and is designed to integrate elements of first-person shooter games. It has been called a MMO first-person shooter (MMOFPS), but most consider it a hybrid of MMORPG and first-person shooter.

›Story

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic 28th century. In the mid-22nd century, tensions rose between an expanded Chinese Empire and a joint European/North American Federation of the Free World. The unexplained apparent destruction of the first Chinese interstellar colony ship resulted in China launching devastating nuclear strikes with stealth missiles. In retaliation, the American president gave the command to counter strike with cold fusion long-range missiles. World War III started on February 17, 2143; it lasted less than 6 hours.

It took over three centuries for even the most rudimentary civilization to return. By the mid-26th century two great cities had risen from the ashes, thanks in large part to the "Ceres Project". Originally an MIT project in the early 21st century aimed at storing every aspect of human knowledge on holodisk, it had been taken over by the American military in response to the murder of the project leader.

500 years later, both cities are now but shadows of their former selves: Neocron is diminished thanks to a succession of coups d'état as well as a mass exodus to Irata III, a colony 80 light years away formed by the missing Chinese colony ship, and Dome of York suffers from losing a devastating war with Neocron.

Keywords

  • post-apocalyptic
  • cyberpunk
  • online
  • nudity
  • free-to-play
  • day/night cycle

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Story

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic 28th century. In the mid-22nd century, tensions rose between an expanded Chinese Empire and a joint European/North American Federation of the Free World. The unexplained apparent destruction of the first Chinese interstellar colony ship resulted in China launching devastating nuclear strikes with stealth missiles. In retaliation, the American president gave the command to counter strike with cold fusion long-range missiles. World War III started on February 17, 2143; it lasted less than 6 hours.

It took over three centuries for even the most rudimentary civilization to return. By the mid-26th century two great cities had risen from the ashes, thanks in large part to the "Ceres Project". Originally an MIT project in the early 21st century aimed at storing every aspect of human knowledge on holodisk, it had been taken over by the American military in response to the murder of the project leader.

Development

Although Neocron is often said to be the first MMOFPS, WWII Online, released in 2001, holds the Guinness World Record as the first MMOFPS.

Its 2004 sequel, Neocron 2: Beyond Dome of York, was originally slated to be an expansion pack and released separately under a new publisher, 10tacle Studios AG. Following a brief transitional period where Neocron players were encouraged to transfer their characters to Neocron 2, the Neocron servers were closed while the Neocron 2 servers continue to run to this day.

Reception

Neocron received generally mixed reviews. While some reviewers praised the first-person shooter style interface as "intuitive" or "innovative", others describe combat in Neocron as being "dull" or not at all revolutionary.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
WindowsOffline5 September 2002Europe · North America 12 November 2002 · Worldwide 1 April 2012 · Worldwide 28 April 2026

Editions and related releases

Followed by
Neocron 2: Beyond Dome of York

In the same series

Games like this

Collections2 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.