Persistent world
A persistent world is one that continues to exist and change while you are not in it. Persistence is the first precondition for commerce inside a world: without it there is nothing for a business to occupy, no property to own, and no reason for anyone to return.
What persistence actually guarantees
Persistence is a claim about state, not about permanence. A persistent world holds what you built until the operator stops running it — which is why persistence in a publisher world and persistence in an open world are different promises. In the first, persistence lasts as long as the company; in the second, the record of ownership outlives the world itself, though the place you owned may not.
The test
Log out for a month and return. If the world has moved on without you — other people traded, an event happened, your build is still standing — it is persistent. If it reset to a lobby, it is a session with a save file.
See also
Related entries in the Register. Every see-also is reciprocal — if this entry points there, that entry points back.
Metaverse Group, The Register, REG-003 “Persistent world”, as at 2026-08-28. https://metaversegroup.com/encyclopedia/persistent-world/
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