New retro-styled MMO hits a new Steam high because players are… attending a poetry event?

Amassing over 3,000 positive reviews is quite the achievement for an indie project. And that feels doubly true when we're talking about a paid indie MMORPG styled after many dead and buried online adventures from the early 2000s. But that's exactly what Project: Gorgon has managed to do, and its recent peak player achievement wasn't caused by a new feature getting everyone out of town to hunt in the wild, but with a spontaneous community event. A poetry slam. And it isn't the first time it's happened.

According to a post from Welin over on the MMORPG subreddit, there's clear evidence of around 350 people cramming into an in-game pub in Project Gorgon to absorb some mean freestyle poetry. Stuffed between all the beer kegs, bird perches, and chairs, we see names like Kathleen… Shrek, and… well, YourStepMom. Didn't take her for a poetry gal? She's just getting some culture.

Take a look at the chat box, and you'll see people proclaiming how the casino is "way more packed than serbule" (which is apparently the pub in the shot) and how Maribel "can't even drink" because of the lag over there. So how do we really know what's going down? You'll also spot our secretive snapper gaining 17 experience points in… Poetry Appreciation. Can we see any actual politically charged, inspiring, or otherwise life-affirming lines slamming said chat box? No. But given the assumed hosts are still pushing people to "grab a free raffle ticket on stage" for a giveaway, chances are the event just hadn't started yet.

Project Gorgon itself has been around for a number of years now. Even a quick Google shows similar poetry slams appearing on YouTube as far back as 2022. But with the game's 1.0 launch dropping at the end of January this year, turning veteran players into pigs, the indie MMORPG has spiked in popularity. With the help of this recent revival of the poetry slam tradition, it officially surpassed 4,000 concurrent players at the weekend, putting it well above its all-time peak of around 700 players eight years ago. Yes, this game has been around for a while now, and yes, it's the kind of old-school RPG you'll need a notepad to properly enjoy. Oh, and don't worry about the poetry slam lagging out an entire server. The player boom was swiftly followed by the introduction of a fifth server, Laeth, which is now the recommended starting point for new players.

Think 4,000 players is no big deal for an MMO? When 350 of those, which is more than its average peak playercount just a few months back, congregate in a watering hole and tank your FPS, you won't notice the difference between that and a key action house on the busiest World of Warcraft server back in its prime. If anything, it's the makings of a proper online community. You'll remember YourStepMom when you see her battling beasts miles away from civilization.