15 Best Online Virtual World You Can Still Play

While virtual world games were a hallmark of the early 2000s, many of these games still exist and have an active player base. Whether you want to escape the world for a bit or relive some childhood nostalgia, virtual world games are fun to play, and there are many to choose from. In this article, we'll go over 15 popular virtual world games that you can still play, plus we also include a few rewritten and/or private games that fans have resurrected. Keep reading to learn more!

Best Virtual World Games to Play

Social games: Second Life, Gaia Online, Habbo Hotel, IMVU, VRChat
Virtual pets: Neopets, Webkinz, Animal Jam, Subeta, Flight Rising
RPG: RuneScape, Wizard101
Sandbox: Minecraft, Roblox
Rewritten games: Classic Neopets, Toontown, Pixie Hollow, Club Penguin, Moshi Monsters

1

Second Life

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Second Life is a virtual world game from 2003, and it's still active to this day.^{[1]
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Research source} Second Life is a 3D life simulation virtual world game, in which you create an avatar and chat with other users. Within the world, you can socialize, dance, fly, and even roleplay—and so much more. One of the big draws of Second Life is its community of creators who make items to purchase and dress up your avatar. Much of the content in Second Life is user-generated. This content is moderated to a degree, but it has led to controversy in the past regarding what types of content and behavior are appropriate online.^{[2]
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Research source} This game is best played by adults.
- Game type: Social
- Suggested player age: Adult
- Gameplay: Socializing, dressing up, roleplaying

2

Minecraft

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Minecraft is an expansive virtual world game that is essentially a giant sandbox. While there is a story to the game, you can basically do whatever you want. You can either create your own world or you can join someone else's server to play games, meet other people, and have fun. While Minecraft is a good game for kids, it's best to supervise their activity if they are going on a public server, as some servers are frequented by adults who may not censor their language around younger players.
- Game type: Sandbox
- Suggested player age: Age 10 and up
- Gameplay: Fighting monsters, building

3

Roblox

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Roblox is another sandbox game that's even more freeform than Minecraft is. In Roblox, you actually play in what's called an "experience," which is usually a game but could be something else (like a socialization area or a virtual concert). There are tons of games on Roblox, including dress-up games, obstacle courses, scary games, simulation games, and more. However, Roblox had some recent controversy over its lack of robust child safety measures.^{[3]
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Research source} If you allow your child to play Roblox, make sure to supervise them.
- Game type: Sandbox
- Suggested player age: Age 13 and up
- Gameplay: Anything (depends on the experience)

4

Gaia Online

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Gaia Online is another virtual world site founded in 2003, and it still has an active community of dedicated players.^{[4]
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Research source} Gaia Online's biggest draws are its forums (where you can chat with other people about your interests, hobbies, or whatever) and its avatar dress-up system. While the site does have some minigames, most users are playing to dress up, chat on the forums, or both. A lot of the outfits on Gaia reference musicians, video games, movies, and more, and there are tons of sets to collect. You can even show off your outfits in a daily fashion show to win in-game currency.
- Game type: Dress-up/social
- Suggested player age: Older teen and up
- Gameplay: Socializing, dressing up

5

Neopets

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Neopets was first released in 1999 and has gone through a lot of changes since then.^{[5]
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Research source} It's not the first virtual pet site, but it was one of the first, and the site has changed hands a lot over the years. While the fate of the site was uncertain for a while, it's still around and still a thriving place for people to play games, collect cute pets, and chat with their friends. You'll find many players of Neopets today are older than the site's original target audience, but the site remains pretty kid-friendly to this day. And if you miss the old Flash games, don't worry—most of the old Neopets games have been converted to work in modern browsers.
- Game type: Virtual pet
- Suggested player age: Age 13 and up
- Gameplay: Collecting pets, playing games, socializing

6

Webkinz

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Webkinz was originally a unique pet site idea: if you bought a Webkinz plush toy in real life, you could use that toy to access a virtual world where you could play with your pet and do so much more. Today, two versions of Webkinz exist: Webkinz Next and Webkinz Classic, and both are free to play (even if you don't have a Webkinz plush anymore). Webkinz was originally released in 2005, and over 20 years later, it's still an active community.^{[6]
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Research source} It's also one of the virtual worlds that is still considered a relatively safe place for kids to play online, despite the age of the site.^{[7]
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Research source}
- Game type: Virtual pet
- Suggested player age: Age 6 and up
- Gameplay: Playing games, collecting pets

7

Animal Jam

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Animal Jam is a virtual world where players can actually become their favorite animal. While the characters in Animal Jam are based on real animals instead of fictional ones, you can still dress them up, change their coat pattern, and customize them however you want. Animal Jam was created in 2010 and continues to be active today, and there are two ways to play: the new Animal Jam or Animal Jam Classic.^{[8]
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Research source} Like Webkinz, Animal Jam is still a relatively safe place for kids to play online, according to National Geographic Kids.^{[9]
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Research source}
- Game type: Virtual pet
- Suggested player age: Age 7 and up
- Gameplay: Playing games, decorating

8

RuneScape

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RuneScape is one of the OG fantasy MMORPGs. It was originally released in 2001 and is still very active to this day. There are currently two ways to play: RuneScape, which is actually RuneScape 3 (released in 2020), and Old School RuneScape (OSRS), a classic version of RuneScape released in 2013.^{[10]
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Research source} If you're craving the classic RuneScape experience, try OSRS. If you're a new player, we recommend playing the newest RuneScape, which is getting regular updates and has a bunch of quality-of-life changes from the original.
- Game type: MMORPG
- Suggested player age: Age 13 and up
- Gameplay: Combat, RPG

9

Habbo Hotel

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Habbo Hotel (also just called Habbo) is a virtual world where all the players exist in a giant hotel, and you can visit various public areas as well as private rooms. The main thing to do in this game is socialize with other people through your avatar (called a Habbo). Habbo was originally released in 2005, and there are now three ways to play the game: Habbo, which is considered the "core Habbo experience,"^{[11]
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Research source}; Habbo Collectibles, which focuses on letting you build your Habbo item collection; and Habbo Hotel: Origins, which aims to recreate the OG 2005 version of the game. Like other virtual world chat platforms, however, there have been several controversies over child safety.^{[12]
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Research source} This game is best played by adults.
- Game type: Social
- Suggested player age: Adult
- Gameplay: Socializing, dressing up, decorating

10

IMVU

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IMVU is another avatar-based social game where you can dress up a virtual character and meet new people. IMVU was originally released in 2004, but it now considers itself the "world's largest web3 social metaverse."^{[13]
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Research source} And while IMVU is considered a social game, many players on Reddit have stated that this game is no longer very active, and it's mostly just used for taking pictures and showing off your avatar.^{[14]
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Research source} Like Second Life, much of the content used to dress up your avatar in IMVU is user-created. And also like Second Life, IMVU has faced backlash for issues with child safety on the platform.^{[15]
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Research source} This game is best enjoyed by adults.
- Game type: Social
- Suggested player age: Adult
- Gameplay: Socializing, dressing up

11

Subeta

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Subeta is another pet site that has been around for many years, though it never reached the cult-classic status that Neopets did. However, despite its age, the site is still active and getting regular updates with new content, pet colors, and more. The community is a bit smaller than it was in the past, but that doesn't mean it's not worth playing anymore!
- Game type: Virtual pet
- Suggested player age: Age 13 and up
- Gameplay: Playing games, collecting pets, socializing

12

Wizard101

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Wizard101 is an online MMORPG that was initially released in 2008. In this game, you play as a wizard and learn how to control and use magic. Once you learn how to use your magic, you can explore, rescue other people, play games, and more.^{[16]
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Research source} The site is also dedicated to keeping kids safe, so it's a relatively safe online space for children to play on.^{[17]
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Research source}
- Game type: MMORPG
- Suggested player age: Age 10 and up
- Gameplay: RPG, playing games

13

Flight Rising

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Flight Rising isn't as old as some of the other games on this list, but it's still an incredibly popular virtual world pet site. This site centers around breeding and raising dragons, with an in-depth genetics system that allows you to get interesting color combinations. You can also dress up your dragons, play some minigames, and chat on the forums.^{[18]
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Research source}
- Game type: Virtual pet
- Suggested player age: Age 13 and up
- Gameplay: Socializing, collecting pets

14

VRChat

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VRChat is the definition of a virtual world—it's a world you can only experience through virtual reality. Much like Roblox, VRChat has tons of worlds that can be anything: social spaces, games, and more. And while a lot of worlds in VRChat are fun and friendly, some are much more adult-oriented, and you can't control what other players look like or what they say. As such, this game is best for adults.
- Game type: Social
- Suggested player age: Adult
- Gameplay: Anything (depends on the world)

15

Rewritten/Private Games

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Many virtual world sites have been lost to the sands of time, but some internet users have started hosting private and/or rewritten versions of some of these games. Here are a few that you might be able to access (note that you may have to apply to join, and your application may be denied):
- Neopets: For a classic Neopets experience, try Grundo's Cafe or Neopets Classic.
- Toontown: Try Toontown Rewritten or Toontown: Corporate Clash.
- Pixie Hollow: Try FairyABC or We Are the Pixies.
- Club Penguin: Check out the list of current private servers, as well as this list of games like Club Penguin.
- Moshi Monsters: Try Moshi Rewritten.