Development started in 2003 by friends Rolf Jansson and Markus Persson, and was released for personal computers using Java in 2006.

The servers' terrain and landscape is changeable by players, who can lower and raise the land, change biomes and vegetation, and more.

Aside from a few pre-made starter towns and a minimal amount of NPCs, everything on the originally wild-natured servers is built and managed by players: settlements, infrastructure, the economy and social interaction.

Massively have often praised Wurm for its no-limit freedom and for truly being a "sandbox" MMO with many different skills and abilities, criticizing only the "maintenance mode" that occurs when maintaining a (large) deed/village.

The distant landscapes were highlighted for their photographic quality, and the main appeal was seen in the interactivity of the world, but overall, it failed to keep the reviewer's attention, feeling that MUD-style text-based combat has been eclipsed by modern MMORPGs.

[9] A PC Gamer review after the official release was critical, with a score of 68%, citing the time commitment required as well as the lack of creativity in what a player could accomplish.