TL;DR: Project 1999 (P99) is a Daybreak-approved revival of classic EverQuest, faithfully recreating the 1999–2001 game across the original release, Kunark and Velious. Expect hardcore, group-focused PvE with experience loss, corpse runs and zero monetization — a museum-grade time capsule for EQ veterans and players who want a brutally old-school MMORPG.

Overview

Project 1999 (P99) is a revival of the MMORPG EverQuest, recreating the game as it stood in 1999–2001 — the so-called "classic trilogy" of releases: the original game, Ruins of Kunark and Scars of Velious. Launched in 2009, it is the oldest and most respected independent EverQuest project and one of the few to carry official approval from Daybreak Games.

P99 positions itself as a "museum" project that recreates the original classic EverQuest experience as precisely as possible, with no modern modifications or quality-of-life shortcuts. It is a hardcore MMORPG that demands serious time, heavy social play and a tolerance for unforgiving rules.

History

EverQuest, released by Sony Online Entertainment in March 1999, was one of the first truly mass-market MMORPGs and shaped the standards of the genre. At its 2001–2004 peak it passed 500,000 subscribers. The game offered a sprawling 3D world, a class-and-race system, group PvE content and harsh death penalties.

Over the years EverQuest gained dozens of expansions (more than 25 by 2026) that reshaped its character: streamlined leveling, instanced zones, NPC mercenaries and microtransactions. Many veterans feel these changes stripped EverQuest of its original identity.

Project 1999 was founded in 2009 to bring EverQuest back the way it was in its earliest years. The team rolled out the first three expansions in sequence, painstakingly recreating mechanics, loot tables, NPC behavior and item stats from surviving documentation and veteran memory.

In 2015 Daybreak Games (successor to Sony Online Entertainment) granted Project 1999 official permission to operate, giving the project legal stability. As of 2026, P99 remains the gold standard among classic MMORPG revivals.

Gameplay

Project 1999 faithfully recreates classic EverQuest — an MMORPG dramatically different from modern entries in the genre. At character creation you pick a race (14 options, including elves, gnomes, ogres, trolls and more) and a class (16 options: Warrior, Cleric, Wizard, Rogue and others). Your race choice affects starting stats, available classes and your starting zone.

Leveling takes hundreds of hours and is built around killing monsters in a group. Quests exist, but they aren't the main source of experience — most progression comes from methodical grinding at camp spots. The six-person group is the standard unit of play, and finding a group is a vital social skill.

Death in Project 1999 carries heavy consequences: experience loss (up to a full level) and a corpse run to recover your gear. In some zones, dying can wipe out days of progress. That harshness creates tension and makes every decision matter.

Raid content is the peak of PvE: world bosses (Nagafen, Vox, the dragons of Velious, the gods of the Planes of Fear, Hate and Sky) require dozens of coordinated players and pose a serious challenge. Bosses are not instanced — every raid guild on the server competes for the right to kill them.

Features

Project 1999's defining feature is museum-grade accuracy. The team aims for maximum authenticity: mechanics, item stats, loot tables and NPC behavior are rebuilt from era documentation. Original bugs are deliberately left unfixed if they existed in the corresponding period.

The project runs two servers: Blue (the main PvE server) and Green (a newer server that progresses through content eras in sequence). The Green server recreates the historical content rollout: only the original game is available at first, then Kunark and Velious open up over time.

Official approval from Daybreak Games makes Project 1999 unique among revivals. It provides legal protection and lets the project operate openly, without fear of litigation.

A total absence of monetization is a core principle of Project 1999. There is no cash shop, no donor perks and no paid elements of any kind. The rules strictly forbid RMT (real-money trading), and violators are banned.

Community

The Project 1999 community is one of the most devoted and distinctive among classic MMORPG revivals. Average population runs 500–1500 players, but behind those numbers sits an exceptionally invested audience — many members have played for 10+ years.

P99 culture closely echoes the atmosphere of the early internet and late-1990s MMORPGs: communication through in-game chat, trading at the EC Tunnel (East Commonlands Tunnel — the traditional marketplace), and player and guild reputations that travel by word of mouth. The project forum is the central hub for discussion, trading and guild recruitment.

The project draws a specific audience: EverQuest veterans nostalgic for the original experience, and new players hunting for a hardcore MMORPG that breaks sharply from the modern genre. The barrier to entry is high, but the community is generally willing to help newcomers.

Links

See Also