3DO drops Jumpgate ; the makers , NetDevil, decide to run it on their own.
Brian Green and Rob Ellis purchase M59 from 3DO and revive it.
The Imagineering group within Disney publicly tests Toontown , a Disney animation themed online world that sticks close to the "groups of players kill critters" paradigm, but changed around for a young child audience. It's notable for not letting people communicate directly in-game, to satisfy the US government's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act rules.
Majestic is shuttered by EA, having failed to garner enough subscribers or retain them. The episodes of the game are released all together on one CD to the retail market.
Funcom's Midgard is put on hold so they can concentrate on AO .
Mythic is sued by Blacksnow Interactive (BSI), a small firm that makes its money by gathering in-game items to sell to other players. BSI alleges that Mythic is damaging their business by preventing the sale of in-game items via online auction sites.