GameSpy Server Shutdown: 'GTA 5' Unaffected, List Of Games Losing Online Multiplayer Support From RockStar Games, EA And More

Over a year after GameSpy.com was shutdown by Ziff Davis Inc., in Feburary 2013, its online matchmaking service, which was separately acquired by Glu Mobile, Inc. (Nasdaq:GLUU), has also been destined for the same fate.

In early April, GameSpy Industries released an official statement that it would shutdown all of its multiplayer hosting services at the end of May:

“Effective May 31, 2014, GameSpy will cease providing all hosted services for all games still using GameSpy.”

While the multiplayer technology has fallen out of favor over the years for multiplayer matchmaking services provided by Valve Software’s Steam and other services on PC, a number of games, especially some released before 2013 will be affected by the shutdown.

However, many of the developers behind games affected by the shutdown were quick to respond to worried players about how their games would be affected and what was being done to mitigate the issue.

Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games published a list of games affected by the closure of GameSpy, which includes “Max Payne 3,” “Red Dead Redemption,” “Grand Theft Auto 4," "Midnight Club Los Angeles," "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars," "Beaterator," and "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition."

Each Rockstar game is affected differently by the shutdown of GameSpy, with some only losing Social Club and stat tracking features, while others will be losing online multiplayer gameplay entirely. Check the official Rockstar Games support page for individual game details.

Fortunately, “Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA5)” players are entirely unaffected by the May shutdown of GameSpy servers.

Bohemia Interactive

Bohemia Interactive, the developer behind the “Arma” series of military simulators, also released a statement that a number of its games, including “Arma: Resistance,” “Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead,” “Arma 3” and more are affected by the shutdown.

However, Bohemia Interactive is working on transitioning “Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead” and “Arma 3” to the Steam multiplayer platform. “DayZ” is currently unaffected, as it currently runs its multiplayer service through Steam.

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:EA) clarified in a tweet that the company is looking to transition a number of its older games affected by the GameSpy shutdown, including “Battlefield 2,” “Bad Company 2,” and “Battlefield 2142.”

An EA official later clarified its tweet in a statement to IGN:

“We're working on finding a transition, but still have technical hurdles to overcome. We will make an announcement when there is news to share.”

2k Games

2k Games released a comprehensive list of games that will be migrated to Steam along with a list of games that won’t make the cut.

Games transitioning to Steam:

“Borderlands (PC)”
“Civilization III”
“Civilization III: Conquests”
"Civilization III: Play the World”
“Civilization IV”
“Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword”
“Civilization IV: Colonization”
“Civilization IV: Warlords”

Games losing online multiplayer:

“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 Demo” (PC)
“Vietcong Fist Alpha” (PC)
“Vietcong 2” (PC)
“Vietcong 2 Demo” (PC)
“MLB Fantasy All-Stars” (DS)
“Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution” (DS)
“Major League Baseball 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars” (DS)
“NHL 2K10” (Wii)
“NBA 2K10” (Wii)

Other Games Affected

Other games affected by the shutdown also include Crytek’s “Crysis” and “Crysis 2” PC multiplayer, which will shut down on May 31. Epic Games will also be developing an in-house solution for its “Unreal” series of multiplayer first-person shooter games.

For a more comprehensive list of games affected by the GameSpy shutdown, check out the list compiled by Reddit’s /r/Games community and the GameSpy service website.

Alternatives

After the shutdown of Gamespy’s servers, games that support direct Internet protocol (IP) connections will still be able to manually connect to third-party servers. Players of games losing Gamespy online multiplayer support can also use services such as GameRanger, which has added support for a number of GameSpy games, including the PC version of “Halo: Combat Evolved.”