This is a common rebuttal but does not pass the sniff test. Alternatives to shutting the servers down:
- patching the game so it does not require a server. Many GaaS are single player games, and are online-only as a form of DRM
- release a closed source binary of the server so that people can run it themselves
- release documentation so people can implement their own backend
- release the server as open source
- be legally required to put a large sticker on the box saying "THIS GAME WILL EXPIRE. BUYER BEWARE."
Some games require servers, like World of Warcraft, but that is a moot point as well because people have been able to reverse engineer and create their own unofficial WoW servers. If Blizzard shuts down tomorrow, WoW will keep chugging along. Not all games benefit from having a dedicated community of nerds to do what the company should have been doing all along, hence this campaign.
- patching the game so it does not require a server. Many GaaS are single player games, and are online-only as a form of DRM
- release a closed source binary of the server so that people can run it themselves
- release documentation so people can implement their own backend
- release the server as open source
- be legally required to put a large sticker on the box saying "THIS GAME WILL EXPIRE. BUYER BEWARE."
Some games require servers, like World of Warcraft, but that is a moot point as well because people have been able to reverse engineer and create their own unofficial WoW servers. If Blizzard shuts down tomorrow, WoW will keep chugging along. Not all games benefit from having a dedicated community of nerds to do what the company should have been doing all along, hence this campaign.