The Matrix Online

The Matrix Online
Developer(s)	Monolith Productions
Publisher(s)	Sega Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)	The Wachowskis
Producer(s)	Joel Silver Troy Skinner
Artist(s)	Kevin Kilstrom
Writer(s)	Paul Chadwick
Composer(s)	Nathan Grigg
Engine	Lithtech Discovery
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	NA: March 22, 2005 EU: April 15, 2005
Genre(s)	Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

The Matrix Online (abbreviated as MxO)^[1] was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) initially developed by Monolith Productions and later, a few months after launch, by Sony Online Entertainment. It was advertised as a continuation of the storyline of The Matrix films, as The Wachowskis, the franchise's creators, gave their blessing to the notion of gamers "inherit[ing] the storyline".^[2] The game began closed beta-testing in June 2004 which was then opened for people who pre-ordered the game in November 2004. Warner Bros. and Sega released MxO on March 22, 2005 in the United States. It was released in Europe on April 15, 2005. In June, Warner Bros. sold the rights to the game to Sony Online Entertainment, and the game's development and operation was transferred to the latter on August 15, 2005. Sony Online Entertainment shut down operation of the game on July 31, 2009.^[3]

Ubisoft backed out of an agreement to co-publish the game, not long after canceling plans for another MMORPG. Ubisoft and Warner Bros. stated that this did not have a negative impact on their relationship. At the time, doubts about the game circled within the industry, based on the lackluster reception of the second and third The Matrix films and an overcrowded MMORPG market.^[4]