What universe or genre would you love to experience as an MMO?

People have been logging on to their computers in order to cast spells at other people logged on to their own computers for over four decades. Despite the long history of massively multiplayer online video games, the diversity of genres represented has been sorely lacking.

There’s just something about an open world with fantastical humanoids, powerful magic, skilled combat, mythical monsters, and a robust economy that results in a vast majority of MMOs sticking with the fantasy setting. There have certainly been popular deviations from that into areas like science fiction, comic book superheros, and even another version of regular old Earth.

This got me thinking: what genre or fictional universe should go all-in on a massively multiplayer game intended to rival the popularity of the powerhouse mainstays? I had barely formed the thought before my brain came up with my answer: Muppets.

Granted, that’s my answer to a lot of questions. Yet I can easily see how an MMO set in the Muppet universe would be a slam dunk. Imagine the character creation alone: there are seventy years of Muppet eyebrows to choose from. The idea of customizing a generic Muppet humanoid/animal/monster and interacting with Kermit and Miss Piggy fills my inner 10-year-old (and my inner 25-year-old) (and my inner/current 40-year-old) with joy.

The quests would be zany. The plot would be nonsensical. There would be chickens absolutely everywhere. Each expansion could cover a different genre: start out with a Hollywood-based “save the Muppets from evil corporate overlords” that they’ve had success with so many times, then go Western, then pirate, then Pigs in Space!

As much as I am clearly a Muppet mega-fan, I don’t think I’d be on the servers alone after their MMO launched. There’s a reason why they can be found on the list of highest-grossing media franchises of all time: staying power. From their humble beginnings on local TV and late night talk shows of the 1960s to this year’s extremely well-received single-episode Muppet Show revival, it’s hard to find a stretch of time over the last few decades where they haven’t graced the big or small screen.

So what franchise or universe would you give anything to explore as an MMO? Perhaps you’d rather something original in a genre that has so far been lacking in representation?