GameSpy Multiplayer Shutting Down, Hundreds of Games at Risk

Rickyk

Skilled
Via IGN -

Hundreds of video games -- including those made by EA, Ubisoft, Gearbox, Nintendo, Konami, Capcom, 5th Cell, Koei, Firaxis, and more -- may be taken offline as Glu's GameSpy multiplayer servers shut down on May 31.

GameSpy was a third-party technology used by publishers and developers to host online services. It was acquired by Glu from IGN in 2012. At the time, Glu CEO Niccolo de Masi said, "We expect that the acquisition of GameSpy will be earnings neutral in the near term. However, GameSpy team and technology is expected to help us drive higher monetization and lifetime value in Glu's titles from 2013 on."

Notable titles included under GameSpy's multiplayer servers included, at one point, Red Dead Redemption, Civilization IV, Grand Theft Auto IV, SEGA & Sonic All-Stars Racing, and Borderlands.

Different publishers are handling the shutdown in different ways. Recently, Nintendo explained that it would abandon hundreds of Nintendo Wi-Fi games, as the titles relied on the same servers. Some publishers will follow suit, as it may not be financially viable to support long-forgotten or unplayed games. Others have already migrated their online services to new servers, including Steamworks.

Sources confirmed to IGN that Rockstar Games' titles will remain unaffected, as Glu has been working with developers for approximately two years to transition their games from GameSpy to other online servers.

We've contacted multiple developers and publishers asking about contingency plans to keep their games from going offline permanently.

An Activision representative explained, "Activision won't be affected." Bohemia Interactive told IGN, "Yes, we are aware of GameSpy issue and we are very near to [finding] some suitable solution, but I cant tell you more details at the moment."

In a forum post, Bohemia explained further: "This is going to affect multiplayer in our games that use Gamespy for matchmaking, cd keys authentification and NAT traversal from Arma: Resistance to Arma 3. We are planning to introduce an alternative solution using Steam to Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead and Arma 3 users. Other games (Take On Helicopters, Arma 2, Arma 2: Free, Arma, Arma: Cold War Assault) will have more limited multiplayer experience with loss of server browser, cd key authentification and NAT traversal systems. That said, direct IP connection to servers should work even after Gamespy services are no longer available."

SEGA, Volition, Rockstar Games, and Namco Bandai began investigating the issue on each of their ends.

EA, Ubisoft, and Capcom did not respond to our requests for comments. Gearbox pointed us to 2K Games, which declined to say anything. We will update this article with any additional information we receive.

You can view the complete list of affected games on GameSpy's tech website.

Comments:

Activision: "Activision won't be affected."

Bohemia: "Yes, we are aware of GameSpy issue and we are very near to [finding] some suitable solution, but I cant tell you more details at the moment."

Capcom: "There are a few titles for which Capcom utilizes GameSpy’s matchmaking services for online gameplay. We are evaluating migration solutions and will have more information in the near future. Please check back on www.capcom-unity.com for updates."
 
Via Shack -

Borderlands, Civilization 3 & 4 will survive GameSpy shutdown
With GameSpy's online services set to shut down on May 31, 2K Games has stepped forward and announced which of its online-enabled multiplayer games will survive the closure. Borderlands, Civilization III, and Civilization IV, and their respective expansions will all begin making the transition from GameSpy servers to Steamworks in the coming days, while several other games will see their multiplayer servers go down with the GameSpy ship.

The 2K Games blog (via Game Informer) stated that Borderlands, Civilization III, and Civliation IV would momentarily go offline on May 31 as their servers made the formal transition to their new home. Offline play will not be affected during this period.

Not every 2K Games title affected by the GameSpy shutdown will survive, unfortunately. The 2K Games support page states that the following games will no longer support multiplayer after May 31:
  • Close Combat First to Fight (PC/Mac)
  • Jetfighter (PC)
  • Jetfighter V: Homeland Protector (PC)
  • Leadfoot (PC)
  • Rune (PC)
  • Stronghold 2 (PC)
  • Stronghold Legends (PC)
  • Top Spin (PS2/PC)
  • Top Spin 2 (PC/DS)
  • Vietcong (PC)
  • Vietcong Fist Alpha (PC)
  • Vietcong 2 (PC)
 
EA games facing an "Online Services Shutdown" -
  • Battlefield 1942 for PC and Mac (including The Road to Rome and Secret Weapons of WW2 expansions)
  • Battlefield 2 for PC (including Special Forces expansion)
  • Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for PlayStation 2
  • Battlefield 2142 for PC and Mac (including Northern Strike expansion)
  • Battlefield Vietnam for PC
  • Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars for PC and Mac (including Kane's Wrath expansion)
  • Command & Conquer: Generals for PC and Mac (including Zero Hour expansion)
  • Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 for PC and Mac
  • Crysis 2 for PC
  • Crysis for PC
  • Crysis Wars for PC
  • Dracula - Undead Awakening for the Wii
  • EA Sports 06 for PC
  • F1 2002 for PC
  • Global Operations for PC
  • James Bond: Nightfire for PC
  • Master of Orion III for PC
  • Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for PC and Mac (including Breakthrough and Spearhead expansions)
  • NASCAR Sim Racing for PC
  • NASCAR Thunder 2003 for PC
  • NASCAR Thunder 2004 for PC
  • Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 for PC
  • Neverwinter Nights 2 for PC and Mac
  • Neverwinter Nights for PC, Mac and Linux (including Hordes of the Underdark and Shadows of Undrentide expansions)
EA has added that -
"GameSpy announced earlier this month that they would be ending all hosted services for games, which impacts the online capabilities of a number of older titles, including some from EA. Since GameSpy’s announcement, our teams have been working to evaluate options to keep services up and running. Unfortunately, due to technical challenges and concerns about the player experience, we do not have a solution at this time. Online services for EA games on the GameSpy platform will be closed down at the end of June.

We know some of these games are still fan favorites, including Battlefield 2, Battlefield 1942, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Command & Conquer games. We are still investigating community-supported options to preserve online functionality for these titles, such as multiplayer. Significant technical hurdles remain, and at this time we don’t have anything to announce."
 
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Yes, despite what they said earlier, this is really the end of the old Battlefield games. We spend so much money on today's games, and they will probably be shut down within 3-4 years. One of the main reasons I have stopped buying EA multiplayer games.
 
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