
hackmud is a retro cyberpunk RPG where you play a digital persona in a chaotic, unpredictable, and often goofy abandoned internet. Enter a 90s hacker movie filled with scripts, scams, and sabotage. Explore the world of digital secrets and forge your legacy through cunning, creativity, or disruption.
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Media
About
In the abandoned internet, the old rules are dead. Don't just follow the script, write your own. This is a system waiting to be subverted by the operators who dare to learn its rules.
Your goals are your own:
Will you become a digital archaeologist, piecing together the fragmented lore and forgotten secrets of the multi-user domain?
Will you design and build your own games, tools, or cryptic puzzles, becoming a renowned Weaver whose creations are sought by others?
Will you build a name for yourself as a trusted voice, a data trafficker, or simply the host of the most exclusive social hubs on the net?
Will you build a corporate empire, discover and exploit security flaws, or become a notorious con artist who scams rivals out of their fortunes?
The choice is yours. But first, we'll give you the tools of the trade. A guiding hand will walk you through the fundamentals, ensuring you're fully equipped to make your mark on the system.
This is pure retro-futuristic immersion. The unique interface pulls you into the fantasy, while the deep, atmospheric soundtrack by legendary composers Lena Raine (Celeste, Minecraft) and Ryan Ike (West of Loathing, Gunpoint) makes the abandoned net feel alive, dangerous, and full of secrets.
Explore a persistent world where player-run corporations, underground economies, and shifting alliances are the content. Your actions create lasting change, from destroying the market to uncovering bizarre lore and puzzles that have been unsolved for a decade. This is a world with real stakes and real depth, shaped by its community.
Success in hackmud isn't measured in levels, but in influence. Your reputation is your most valuable asset. Will you be known as a trustworthy system builder, a fearsome data thief, or an untraceable digital ghost? Master subterfuge, forge alliances, and betray rivals… every interaction contributes to the legend you build.
The marks system provides a guided, hands-on onboarding experience so you don’t have to worry about being a fresh face in a den of veteran hackers. It will teach you the basics and build the foundation you'll need to survive, compete, and ultimately thrive.
Your journey starts by wielding scripts from other players: a taste of magic that invites you to look under the hood. This curiosity is how hackmud creates coders, often from players who have never written a line of code before.
Genres
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English**languages with full audio support
Engagement
Hours played at review time, across 40 reviews with recorded playtime.
Reviews
Themes across 40 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Reviews
Having played this game for around a year (excluding a 6 month break), I can roundly say that this is one of the most interesting games I have ever played - in 13 years on Steam. hackmud has a wonderful community, is developed and run by a non-profit (always a good thing), and has an unmatched vibe when it comes to its subject matter. There is lore; there are puzzles; there is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, and casinos, and players blowing eachother up (at the top end). I would write more, but there's a really engaging in-game event on at the moment and I want to get back to it :)
Look, I havent got far in the game but it is an interesting environment to code your own systems in :) Yes, I have a lot of hours, but that doesn't mean I've progressed far. I've spent a lot of time exploring different ways to optimize early game stuff and build things like information stores. I found it not super clear how to approach puzzles and that can frustrate the newcomer somewhat. But the community is friendly. I see some people on but I don't know the scope of active users. But just having a couple I can talk and scheme things with is enough for me. I wish there was a better way of accessing scriptors programmatically and dynamically without hardcoding every scriptor you could possibly want to use. If you don't have patience, this game is not for you. The game assumes you know or are willing to learn javascript, and it differs a little bit from "normal javascript". If you get stuck and don't know what to do, there's always the discord who can help you out if you are stuck and can't get ingame help.
steam://openurl/https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198444707376/recommended/469920
cool game
cool concept, unfortunately dead. Community is led by gate-keepers and lacks any potential for upsetting or threaten the established order. Most elite h4ck3rs are just dudes with gigantic botnets farming all the T2 npcs, which is hella retarded.
Imagine being the smallest fish at all times.
This wasn't fun to me. It also has nothing to do with programming, it's more like puzzles
Hacking-Simulation in a Multi-User-Dimension (MUD) The scripting is real automation and out-of-game bot building all possible also hacking other users scripts and bankrolls is encouraged by the rules which are more like a conduct. This fun-to-use coding environment teaches you real world pogramming (JS) and thinking skills. The worlds content is defined by the users, also including the economy and PvP aspects For those eager to explore the MUD offers a deep lore and many things to discover. Upgrade your system, defend it... ...write scripts to rob a corp do whatever you like in this dystopian 90's style hacker version of the "future" internet and get ready to craft. It's even possible to code your own games inside the MUD and let other users play it. They could even write a bot to beat your game or abuse your public scripts for their own goals. It's up to you... ...All you need is just a KEYBOARD! GO WILD, defend yourself, get ready ----edit: I really enjoyed the lates hm_gamejam_v2 Event (missed v1) A lot of players contributed their own minigames and scripts for voting. Also the rewards were given out to the whole community of participants because there was no rivalry. Everbody contributed to the same point-pool ans unlocking better rewards was a group goal. The MUD was very lively during the event and many many ideas have been pitched for the future. Previous users also came back to participate and enjoy the new style of event. There's more to come and explore. IMHO the game is constantly growing by the contributions of the active players. No need to be a veteran here, every user can have a huge impact right from the very beginning. Experimenting is encouraged! Come and explore, play, build, connect...
This games community singlehandedly improved my grammar.
I only regret waiting this long to check this out- very interesting text based game. Plenty of resources. ATOM had been sunset- try Notpad++ if you are setting up custom scripts. Helps understand the basics of arguments, variables, and values.. later functions and full on scripting.
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Trends
Concurrent players on Steam, sampled daily since tracking started.
Momentum
Pace estimated from the game's recent review growth (our daily snapshots) at its own sales-per-review ratio — a momentum signal, not booked sales.
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.
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