So, I've been looking into past games that I used to play which had a decent player base (CS 1.6, MU-online, DayZ mod, Quake, etc.) and were alive for a long time.
Reminiscing made me think: Are there any games that are fun to play with friends and have a stable playerbase? Warframe, Apex Legends, League, Dota : there are these, but is there anything else that's pretty fun and casual right now?
I just wanna chill out and have a laugh with a couple of buddies on the weekend.
Quake Live for the Quake 3-ish experience. - Still alive and run by id.
Doom/Doom II Deathmatch or other modes via Zandronium / Doomseeker. - Long term community project. I've played on and off since 2005. Plenty of servers.
Original Quake Team Fortress if you want to see where the game got started. - May or may not still be servers for this but it's pretty fun.
Unreal Tournament GOTY Edition. - Still servers with players.
Unreal Tournament 2004. - Still servers with players.