Online gaming is great in many ways, but a major drawback of pouring your money and time into a multiplayer-first experience is that there’s the possibility of it one day coming to an end. Some online games shut down mercifully quickly because they simply don’t click with players upon release, while others can last for years before the plug is eventually pulled. The losses in the latter instance can be many and varied, so let’s talk through them.
Community
Online games are partly popular because they build a community around the experience, with players joining guilds and creating their own forums to socialize with like-minded fellow travelers in their chosen interactive world. The problem with a game shutting down is, of course, that this community can effectively disappear overnight. That’s why so many beloved titles that do go the way of the dodo end up resurrected by fan-powered servers and mods.
Some online games are somewhat immune to this issue because they’re platform-agnostic and licensed by multiple providers rather than only being available on a single site or device. So, a slot like Gates of Olympus 1000 will live on, along with its fans and community members, because it’s hosted on a range of online casinos.
Cash
Online games shutting down does have an impact on the finances of players, and that goes beyond the subscription fees and in-game purchases they might have made. These are sunk costs and should be considered the price you pay to play. But in the case that in-game purchases have some monetary value beyond the game itself, that can be a real financial sting for anyone impacted.
Players who’ve got into an online game with the express purpose of purchasing items and cosmetic add-ons available within it to trade and make money will suffer most, and it is a warning against using digital assets as a speculative investment. But it’s an example of how an online game that places an emphasis on the economy within and around it will end up hurting even casual players when it shuts up shop.
Faith
The gaming market is not one with a squeaky-clean reputation by any means, and players who get hurt emotionally by the closing of an online game they’ve put so much time into can be forgiven for losing faith in the whole pastime. Once players have a negative experience of this kind, they’re far less likely to pick up any other online games that get released, and so the entire industry is harmed by poorly planned and executed shutdowns.
When developers have spent years making promises about their commitment to the community that’s grown around their game, only to throw in the towel out of the blue, it’s all the more painful.
Gamers still need to be realistic about online experiences and know that even the biggest titles can’t stick around forever. But if gaming is to remain relevant, online games have to treat players with more respect and provide an end-of-life experience that doesn’t leave the player base in the lurch if a shutdown is necessary.
