Epic today announced that many games in its title library will no longer have access to online play and features. This is to shut down the servers and turn off services for those games.The good news for fans of Epic’s games is that this is only for really old titles. A game that has likely seen a significant drop in player count over the years due to the fact that it has aged. This includes games such as Rock Band 1 -3, Unreal Gold, Unreal Tournament 3.
Epic says they’re making this change because they plan to focus on supporting Epic Online Services with their unified friends system. All games that lose online play do not use this system. Epic also believes that simply shutting down services for these games is easier than supporting different systems. And it makes sense. This move will be less work and allow him to use one system for all his titles.
Epic will not suspend online services until January 24th. So you still have time to enjoy online services until then. However, Epic has already started removing some games from their storefront, and in-game DLC purchases are no longer available today.
Epic Says Most Games Can Be Played Offline After Online Is Shut Down
Online play and services for these titles have ended, but Epic says most of them can still be played offline. So you can play solo or co-op locally if the game supports it. For example, Rock Band can still be played offline and supports local co-op. This means you can play with your friends even if you are still playing the game. They should be in the same room as you now.
Here is the full list of games that have lost online play: 1000 Tiny Claws, Dance Central 1-3, Green Day: Rock Band, Rock Band 1-3, The Beatles: Rock Band, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, Unreal Gold, Unreal II: The Awakening, Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament 2004, Unreal Tournament 3, Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition.
Epic also says that Battle Breakers will end on December 30th. Some players will no doubt be disappointed by these changes Epic is making, but nothing lasts forever. And Epic keeps moving forward.