Server shutdowns are handled differently by different companies and for different games. But if you want to know what’s going to happen to your games when the developer finally shuts off the power, the short answer is that those games lose all of their multiplayer capability. This is going to be a bigger deal for some games than others.
The original “Overwatch” is one of the more extreme examples. The game is no longer playable following the launch of “Overwatch 2,” which has taken over all of its predecessor’s servers. You can’t play it without Blizzard’s support even if you purchased the physical disk and own the game, making it little more than decoration. “Overwatch” isn’t alone either. “Apex Legends Mobile” is another game that died in 2023 and now can no longer be played.
Games like “Dark Souls 2,” however, are a little different because they are primarily focused on single-player gameplay. You will still be able to play through the campaign, you just won’t be able to play in PVP or co-op mode with friends. This can still be incredibly disappointing for many fans as those online capabilities might have been their favorite aspect of those games. This is one of the biggest problems with the live service gaming model, and it’s something that the video game preservation community has been worried about for a long time, and it’s the same on Xbox as it is on any other platform.
