[Industry news] TORN Surpasses 100,000 Daily Active Players After 22 Years At The Top

This is a press release posted in addition to our usual editorial content.

TORN has announced that, as of Monday, April 27, their text-based crime RPG has officially
surpassed 100,000 daily active players for the first time in the game’s history.

Now in its 22nd year of operation, this record-breaking milestone highlights TORN’s
continued success as a community-driven experience and complex social simulation, one
which continues to thrive and surprise decades after its release. In January 2024, TORN
recorded 48,515 daily active players. Just over two years later, that figure has more than
doubled, breaking the 100,000 mark for the first time ever.

“Since our launch in 2004, our Daily Active Players counter has been the primary metric
we’ve used to assess the health of TORN’s playerbase. Breaking the five-digit barrier on the
login page counter has been a dream of mine for a very long time, one I genuinely never
thought was possible.

This incredible growth was made possible by two initiatives. First, we worked hard to
increase TORN’s capacity to host more players through widespread optimisation across our
infrastructure and codebase. Second, we pushed our advertising and PR campaigns in
multiple new directions. Thankfully, we’ve been successful on both counts. TORN is faster
than it has ever been, despite the vast increase in our playerbase, and for the first time in
two decades we are seeing significant, sustained growth.” – Joe Chedburn, Founder of
TORN.

[*Look out for a full feature on TORN in MCV/DEVELOP #1008 – out early in June! – Ed]

About TORN
Launched in 2004, TORN began life as a bedroom PHP experiment conducted by Joe Chedburn, a
16-year-old college dropout working part-time at Greggs. Today, the game is run by a team of around
fifty developers and creatives spread across the UK, USA, Ukraine, Thailand and beyond.

TORN’s playerbase has grown with the game – mostly because they never log off – with marriages,
births, and even a few real-life job offers resulting from its existence. Its established playerbase of
veterans is constantly refreshed, with over 30,000 new citizens arriving in the past year alone, many
of whom now likely find themselves on several government watchlists.

With no release dates, no toxic crunch culture, and no shareholders to placate, TORN continues to
expand at its own pace. New features and updates are scheduled for 2026 and beyond, with the
developers committed to releasing content only when it is ready. That dedication to quality has helped
TORN to outlive its rivals, with its longevity meaning it will likely persist beyond the lives of its
creators, players, and possibly the internet itself.