Online matchmaking client GameSpy is shutting down on May 31, which means that the games that still rely on it will have to either transition to a new solution or go offline. It looked pretty grim for a long list of games when we first heard the news, but since then most of the popular games announced that they will not go silently into the night. Today, we got the great news from 2K that there might be bit of downtime, but that Borderlands and the Civilization series will be transitioning to Steamworks.
Beginning May 31, 2014, select legacy titles from the Borderlands and Civilization catalogs will temporarily go offline while service is transitioned to Steamworks, 2K said on its website. During the transition, players will experience interruption of several features, including online play, matchmaking and voice over Internet protocol (VOIP). Players will not experience interruptions to offline play.
Here s 2K s full list of games that are switching to Steamworks:
Borderlands
Civilization III
Civilization III: Conquests
Civilization III: Play the World
Civilization IV
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
Civilization IV: Colonization
Civilization IV: Warlords
As we ve previously reported, Electronic Arts, Activision, Epic Games, and Bohemia Interactive all announced that some or all of their games will survive the GameSpy shutdown.
So far, the biggest casualties seem to be the online multiplayer modes for Crysis and Crysis 2. If you re really upset by that, there s even an online petition you can sign.