Editing Multiplayer video game (section)

{{Short description|Video game of multiple players}}
{{redirect|Multiplayer|other multiplayer games|Game#Multiplayer}}

A '''multiplayer video game''' is a [[video game]] in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2024-04-18 |title=Dictionary.com {{!}} Meanings & Definitions of English Words |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/multiplayer |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Dictionary.com |language=en}}</ref> either locally on the same computing system ([[couch co-op]]), on different computing systems via a [[local area network]], or via a [[wide area network]], most commonly the [[Internet]] (e.g. ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', ''[[Call of Duty]]'', [[DayZ (video game)|''DayZ'']]). Multiplayer games usually require players to share a single game system or use [[Mobile network|networking technology]] to play together over a greater distance; players may compete against one or more human contestants, work [[Cooperative video game|cooperatively]] with a human partner to achieve a common goal, or [[Gamemaster|supervise]] other players' activity. Due to multiplayer games allowing players to interact with other individuals, they provide an element of social communication absent from single-player games.

The history of multiplayer video games extends over several decades, tracing back to the emergence of electronic gaming in the mid-20th century. One of the earliest instances of multiplayer interaction was witnessed with the development of ''[[Spacewar!]]'' in 1962 for the [[PDP-1|DEC PDP-1]] computer by [[Steve Russell (computer scientist)|Steve Russell]] and colleagues at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, multiplayer gaming gained momentum within the arcade scene with classics like ''[[Pong]]'' and ''[[Tank (video game)|Tank]]''. The transition to home gaming consoles in the 1980s further popularized multiplayer gaming. Titles like ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] and ''[[Golden Axe]]'' for the [[Sega Genesis]] introduced cooperative and competitive gameplay. Additionally, LAN gaming emerged in the late 1980s, enabling players to connect multiple computers for multiplayer gameplay, popularized by titles like ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' and ''[[Warcraft: Orcs & Humans]]''. Players can also play together in the same room using [[Split screen (computing)|splitscreen]].