Require publishers to leave videogames (and related game assets / features) they have sold to customers in a reasonably working state when support ends, so that no further intervention whatsoever is necessary for the game to function, as a statutory consumer right.
In the olden days, online games didn’t have servers run by the publisher, they came with a separate program users would run to host their own server. Things like Minecraft still work that way, although I think there are servers run by Microsoft too now. For some games, this will be more complicated than others, but it’s not impossible.
And if it were impossible (or infeasible), they shouldn’t be able to sell you a perpetual license knowing that it will expire when they take down the servers. If they are selling it as a service, there needs to be a minimum length of service specified. If the game is rendered unplayable before that date, the customer should be entitled to a refund.
As it is right now, you buy these games with a hidden expiration date. You could buy The Crew as late as December 14th, 2023 with no way of knowing you only had 4 months to play it. Those people don’t receive a refund.
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In the olden days, online games didn’t have servers run by the publisher, they came with a separate program users would run to host their own server. Things like Minecraft still work that way, although I think there are servers run by Microsoft too now. For some games, this will be more complicated than others, but it’s not impossible.
And if it were impossible (or infeasible), they shouldn’t be able to sell you a perpetual license knowing that it will expire when they take down the servers. If they are selling it as a service, there needs to be a minimum length of service specified. If the game is rendered unplayable before that date, the customer should be entitled to a refund.
As it is right now, you buy these games with a hidden expiration date. You could buy The Crew as late as December 14th, 2023 with no way of knowing you only had 4 months to play it. Those people don’t receive a refund.