Gaming danger: A lot of online games are being shut down permanently
posted Sunday Feb 5, 2023 by Scott Ertz
One of the big dangers of online gaming is that a game can be killed off on a whim, leaving gamers without any access to the games that they purchased and put time into. In the old days, you could purchase a game and play it potentially forever. In our office, we've got an Atari 2600 and dozens of games, all of which are fully functional and playable. However, today you can make a $60 purchase and within a year, the game's back-end is disabled and the game becomes worthless. As developers and publishers become bored with a game, they decide to abandon it entirely. This week, a surprisingly large number of games announced their end dates.
Knockout City
Knockout City is a free-to-play online dodgeball game. Like in real dodgeball, players are placed onto teams and compete against one another for dominance. The game's publisher, Velan Studios, announced this week that the game would end following its Season 9.
Season 9 starts on February 28, 2023, and runs through May 23, 2023. At the same time the new season begins, all monetary purchases will be disabled, but still retaining rewards-based purchases. As the event goes on, rewards and XP will be increased, allowing people to explore the game in greater detail.
There is some good news, however. The company intends to release a private server instance option, allowing people to manage and maintain their own servers to keep the game alive. It is a positive development to see publishers remain dedicated to their fan base, though it does appear to be few and far between.
Crimesight
Crimesight is a murder mystery game developed and published by Konami. The game's Steam page recently announced that the game will no longer be available for sale starting February 27, 2023 and will be shut down for good on May 1, 2023. This will render the game unplayable, just over a year after release.
The company claims that the shutdown is caused by various circumstances, but it appears that a complete lack of players is the cause. According to usage data, less than 600 players were online on launch day, and that number dropped rather quickly. As of writing, the 24-hour peak usage is 9 players. Far from a successful game, indeed.
Rumbleverse
Rumbleverse is a battle royale brawler game developed by Iron Galaxy. The game sees 40 players battle for individual supremacy in Grapital City. This week, the company announced a sunset of the game on February 28, 2023. This is a really quick turnaround for a shutdown, as most of the other companies give several months of a heads up, while Iron Galaxy is giving only a couple of weeks.
As of now, the in-game store has been shut down and the entire, full online experience has been made available to all players. XP will also be doubled, so you can rank up quickly before the sun sets. Despite being a fairly popular title, the game is disappearing only months after launch. The game released in August of 2022, meaning that players have only had 6 months to explore Grapital City. No plans for a private server option have been announced.
EA Mobile Titles
Both Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile will be shutting down. Thier console and PC variants will continue to operate as usual. Both titles are being scrapped as part of a "realignment" at EA. Both titles were removed from stores On January 31, 2023 and the servers that support the games will be removed on May 1, 2023. EA has said that there will be no refunds for purchases made in either mobile game, similar to path EA mobile and social reshuffles.
Summary
When getting involved in online gaming, this is one of the risks you accept. You are entirely under the control of the company that maintains the game, usually the developer or publisher. When they are done, all of your work, your game time, and your purchases traditionally vaniahs into the ether of the technology graveyard.
