The Realm Online, originally known simply as The Realm, is a second generation MORPG (multiplayer online role playing game).
The Realm was launched in December 1996 for Windows PC. It was designed in the tradition of graphical MUDs, before the popular usage of the terms "massively multiplayer" and "MMORPG".
Originally published by Sierra On-Line, it was abandoned by that company because of its unfavorable comparison to Ultima Online and EverQuest. It was next taken up for a short time by a company called World Opponent Network which was also owned by Sierra On-line, then Codemasters, and presently is a Norseman Games production.
Source: Wikipedia, "[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Realm_Online The Realm Online]", available under the CC-BY-SA License.