Should online games have a 'sell by date'?

General Discussion PC
1

Given that more and more games are online I’ve began to notice that if the game has an online/live component it usually has a life span of about 1-2 years before the servers are pulled and the game is then dead
What does this mean for the future of games and should companies include a sell-by-date on new games with a live service?

The reason I say this is because it wouldn’t have been something I’d necessarily have thought about before buying but now given how common this style of gaming is becoming AND the fact that you stand to lose any investment you made within that service (items, benefits, etc) once the time is up, and currently there is very little information on when a game will be pulled or taken offline.

What do you think?

1 Like
2

Don’t worry about that. look at diablo 3 12 years old and you still can play online. Idk if game will be important to you after that long time

3

Yes. People should definitely know if something they are paying for will be guaranteed to cease to function after a period of time.

2 Likes
4

But you guys know that you don’t “own” the game? So Blizzard doesn’t give a … about it.

Read license agreement and you will get it, that any expectation of moral behavior from Blizzard is just naive.

3 Likes
5

Live service games can be pulled or shutdown at any time. If you don’t like the risk of that don’t play them. Its a reality of the situation whether it sits well with you or not.

6

Considering the crumbling infrastructure, number of homeless in the US atm with mass immigration and middle class fading I would start looking games that are being made elsewhere by indie studios.

Because entertainment is not going to deliver anything good in the future. Just fancy and good looking walking-driving-shooting simulators with no real gameplay, hook or proper storytelling.

Western entertainment is done.

7

Do not know if this is what you mean, but I bought Diablo 4 in february 2024 with season 3 and I just read that basically I would have to buy it again full price in october 2024 to keep on playing on a “live” version … so we are talking 8 months, not 1 year, and for those who bought it at season 4 in May 2024, basically 6 months … duh ?

8

Normal game will be still available just don’t get seasons updates. <This is how was with D3

9

Yes but do people know that this is the case? The move from offline games to an online service has been sleight and I would argue not many people think about the game’s expiration date before they purchase.

By having a sell-by-date it would make things a lot clearer for the consumer.

What’s wrong with that?

10

Nothing, except it’s naive thinking. You can’t do anything about it since you do not owe any copy of the game - digital nor physical.

11

Personally, I got a feeling the days of live game without ownership will come to an end soon.

12

In 10 years if you want to eat good proper food or enjoy proper entertainment you need to do it yourself. Or you will get sick eventually and depressed. Every game that comes out has out of touch trailer and zero gameplay.

13

That’s why push A.I. If this will be really pushed. You don’t need to play thier games A.I will make game that you want to play.

14

Isn’t it happening right now?

15

Yes. But depending where you live one can still buy fresh produce. Entertainment is good if it comes from era before 2010.

16

Well, there you go, this is my case and point. The goal-posts could be moved at any point and you have no clue prior to buying.

A sell-by-date AND any other relevant information relating to changes in the live service, especially in relation to additional future payments, need to be clearly labelled prior to purchase.

It’s not good practice is it?

17

The cost of keeping D2 up must be fairly low at this point as server capacity has grown exponentially. There’s no sign of computational capacity growth slowing down, rather it speeds up. In some future this game too will need little resources, so I’m not worried about that.