Games like Hacknet — if you wanted the network to fight back
hiddenwars.io · a free browser-based hacking MMO
Hacknet is a great terminal: you type, the story listens, the credits roll. Uplink built the fantasy. Grey Hack made it multiplayer. If what you actually wanted after the ending was a network that keeps existing — with other people in it, working against you — that's the gap HiddenWars lives in.
HiddenWars is a persistent, browser-based hacker strategy MMO. No install, no download: it runs in a tab, free, and the world keeps running when you close it.
How it compares, honestly
- Hacknet — solo, narrative, beautifully scripted. One playthrough. HiddenWars trades the scripted story for a live world.
- Uplink — the classic solo arc. HiddenWars keeps the heat-and-consequence feel, on a persistent map with thousands of other operators.
- Grey Hack — real multiplayer and scripting depth, as a desktop client. HiddenWars is the browser-native take, with a full strategy layer on top of the terminal fantasy.
What you actually do
- Build a botnet — recruit nodes, grow it, defend it from other players.
- Run hacks on high-value and legendary targets; manage the heat you accrue.
- Collect bounties, upgrade your rig, and climb the global ShadowNet leaderboard.
- Join a cell (our guilds), fight sieges and world bosses, trade on the player market.
- A persistent Corruption War meta-game spreads across regions whether you show up or not.
Free to play. Optional cosmetics-and-convenience currency; no pay-to-win. A Steam build is in development; the browser is the home turf.
[ open a terminal — play free ]New to the genre? Start with Hacknet or Uplink — they're worth your time. Then come run the network where the other hackers are real.