A book can gather dust on a shelf for decades, a film survives even if it tanks at the box office. But an online video game has a finite lifespan. It costs money to keep servers running, and a steady stream of content is needed to attract new players and keep old ones engaged. Online games must be played continuously, otherwise they die.

The mortality rate for Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) – in which hundreds or thousands of players inhabit a single world – is particularly high. In the late 2000s, after the staggering success of World of Warcraft, other studios wanted a piece of the MMO pie. The market became oversaturated, and many failed to thrive, eventually shutting down and disappearing altogether. There were simply not enough players to go round.

More often than not, MMOs die slowly. A drop-off in new content accompanies a decline in players, which in turn makes allocating development time to the game less worthwhile. The snake eats its own tail, the cycle continuing until only the most devoted fans remain and the game is stagnant.

Such is the fate of The Secret World. Released in 2012, the game’s horror-inspired setting was its main draw. Players were embroiled in a shadowy world of the paranormal, of secret societies and urban legends. Unique investigative missions required you to scour the environment for tiny details; anything from street names to manhole covers could be a clue in a mystery that spanned multiple continents. Now, with no major update since 2018, it appears the mystery leads nowhere.