# The Past Affects the Future

LLMS index: [llms.txt](/dvw/en/llms.txt)

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Very few graphical virtual worlds that are announced as being in development actually wind up being played. This situation may change as the barriers to entry fall, but probably not significantly so.

Estimates vary, but at least a hundred graphical virtual worlds—perhaps up to two hundred—were announced in the two years following EverQuest’s launch in 1999. Some were down to wishful thinking on the part of talented (or otherwise) amateurs; some failed in preproduction because funding was not available; some failed when the money they did raise ran out; some built up a community and reached live testing before they went belly-up.

Some, however, were set to become bestsellers yet were inexplicably cancelled. Three of these were to have repercussions for the industry as a whole.

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Section pages:

- [Missed Opportunities](/dvw/en/book/01-introduction-to-virtual-worlds/01-09-the-past-affects-the-future/01-10-missed-opportunities/)
- [Theory and Practice](/dvw/en/book/01-introduction-to-virtual-worlds/01-09-the-past-affects-the-future/01-11-theory-and-practice/)
- [Whither Innovation?](/dvw/en/book/01-introduction-to-virtual-worlds/01-09-the-past-affects-the-future/01-12-whither-innovation/)