Wizard101 is still standing — and still worth your time

🎮🧙 Some games age like fine wine. Wizard101 is one of them. Launched in September 2008 by KingsIsle Entertainment, it remains one of the last surviving MMORPGs from the golden age of the internet — still receiving multiple updates per year, new worlds and storylines, combat system overhauls, and some of the most reliably responsive customer support in the genre. Almost two decades in, it’s still kicking.

The storyline: You’re a young wizard summoned to Ravenwood Academy in Wizard City, chosen for reasons that quickly become clear: one of the school’s professors has gone rogue, chasing the resurrection of his late wife and threatening to unravel the entire in-game world in the process. That’s just Arc 1. The game has since expanded to five fully-fledged story arcs, with a quality of storytelling that puts many triple-A titles to shame. Skip the dialogue at your own peril — it’s genuinely worth reading.

The gameplay runs on a turn-based, card-based combat system — you pick a school of magic, build a deck, and duel your way through an open world packed with side quests, dungeons, crafting, fishing, farming, and pet training. PvP is a serious pursuit for those who want it. The loop can feel repetitive in the early hours, but new spells and mechanics compound as you level up, keeping things from going stale. Combat isn’t the star of the show anyway; the storytelling is.

What hasn’t aged as gracefully: the graphics. Wizard101 still looks like a 2008 game — charmingly so for veterans, but potentially off-putting for newcomers expecting something closer to modern production standards. KingsIsle has made upgrades over the years, but this will always be a game that prioritizes world and story over visual fidelity. A fair trade, we’d argue.

The community is alive and well: With mns of registered accounts and tens of thousands of monthly active players, the fanbase is thriving… and here’s the thing: the kids who logged on in 2009 never left. Today, most of the Spiral’s population is adults — full-time workers, busy parents, college students chasing nostalgia. We’ve been playing since 2009. We understand.

The verdict: Wizard101 is a genuinely rare thing — a live-service game that has earned its longevity. A paywall exists (F2P cuts off at level 10), but for the price of a couple of Spanish lattes, you get access to one of gaming’s most well-kept worlds. If you love all things magical (Harry Potter), this is definitely worth checking out. Just don’t let the cartoony exterior fool you.

💯 Rating: 8.4/10 (IGN).

⌛ Hours of gameplay: Infinite.

🔁 Replay value: 10/10 — You can have up to seven characters, each enrolled in different schools for different gameplay experiences.

👾 Platforms: PC (Windows and macOS), PS.

💵 Price: F2P (up to level 10); USD 9.95/month for a monthly subscription. Gift cards can be purchased from Egypt Game Store with instant online delivery.