Asheron’s Call (AC) is a fantasy MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) for Microsoft Windows-based PCs developed and published by Turbine Entertainment. Though it was developed by the Turbine team (with Microsoft’s extensive assistance), it was published as a Microsoft title until 2004. Asheron’s Call is set on the island continent of Dereth and several surrounding smaller islands and archipelagos on the fictional planet of Auberean. The game is played in a large, seamless 3D virtual world which can host thousands of players’ characters at a time. Released on November 2, 1999 it was the third major MMORPG to be released and was developed at the same time as Ultima Online and Everquest. After initial success its subscription numbers dropped as newer MMORPGs moved into the market. All of its host servers are still online over 15 years after the game’s original launch.