Online game servers shutting down is an inevitable part of the internet gaming experience. Any system that connects through a central infrastructure will eventually be left victim to the dreaded cost/benefit analysis, and every game will eventually fall on the wrong side of this equation. This is exactly what has happened with over a dozen of Epic’s classic titles recently, leaving long-time fans to wonder what could come next.
The Games and Death Date
The most popular online titles on the chopping block for the coming shutdown include the first three Dance Central titles, the first three Rock Band games, and, most importantly, all Unreal games up until Unreal Tournament 3. The oldest of these, Unreal Gold, dates back to 1998, with the multiplayer servers previously still going strong nearly a quarter of a century later.
Though some functionality of these games will remain, with UT3 noted for more online support somewhere down the line, they’re all now undergoing the shutdown process. If everything goes according to plan, the online service part of the equation will end on January the 24th, 2023.
Access is Life
As for what happens after this point, that much is up to the players. While online services will no longer be officially supported, this isn’t the first time that video game enthusiasts have had to face server shutdowns of their favourite games. It’s a problem that has been fought and overcome many times, and it’s a situation where the gaming industry often comes off looking like the bad guy.
Most of the famous modern examples of this phenomenon occur in Games-as-s-Service (GaaS) titles, such as 2015’s Evolve. Published by 2K Games, Evolve was noted as a fun title, but it didn’t have the appeal to stay successful for long. Launching as a full-priced title, Evolve eventually moved to F2P, and then shut down dedicated servers entirely in September of 2018.
The big problem fans have is that with so many of these game servers shutting down, customers lose access to some of what they paid money for. While we can’t expect every company to keep paying for online servers, for publishers like 2K Games or Epic for Evolve or Unreal respectively, money is not an issue.
Acting to keep these games alive is the players and websites built around them, which keep player bases strong. On an external level, services like the best eSports betting sites can serve as places to keep attention in a visible sphere. These websites combine player and gambler interest by offering features like free bets and daily promotions, contributing to the all-important continued public interest. These types of surrounding websites can help keep games strong, at least in the eSports landscape.
Once servers have officially shut down, however, it’s up to players to work on a more internal level by creating unofficial ‘rogue’ servers. These mirror the behaviour of official servers, as has been the case in titles like Star Wars: Galaxies, and the ever-hacked Titanfall 2. Over time, with enough interest, this can serve as encouragement for game developers and publishers to take another try.
Though we’re excited at the prospect of another chance at Unreal Tournament 3, the death of these other servers marks the end of a generation. These are titles that many of us cut our online teeth on, which are still fun to jump into from time to time. For some, we can rely on a fan legacy to keep rogue servers running, but we still have to mourn for those games which are not quite so fortunate.