EA has confirmed that it is shutting down the online services of four games, those being Syndicate, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Shadows of the Damned, and Warp. As is common in the online gaming world, companies eventually end support for the multiplayer components of certain games after a few years. This is the fate that now awaits Syndicate and a few other games from EA.
EA recently confirmed that it is delisting some very famous games next month, including the acclaimed Battlefield: Bad Company 2. As a consequence, it will no longer be possible to purchase digital copies of these games starting at the end of April. According to the company, the procedure is part of the protocol for the closure of online services for these games. While this change is not happening yet, EA is also making more changes to its catalog.
Pure Xbox spotted that on March 28, support for the action-horror shooter Shadows of the Damned for PS3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One will end. The 2011 game follows a demon hunter on his journey to hell to save the love of his life. On May 15 two games will see the end of online services for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. The first will be Warp, a 2012 puzzler where the player commands Zero, an adorable but lethal alien. The second game will be Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, an action-RPG released in 2012 and written by Todd McFarlane, the creator of the iconic comic book character Spawn. Finally, on June 15 players will bid farewell to the online services of the 2012 shooter Syndicate for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
The first three games are backward compatible, so they can be played on modern Xbox consoles by players using physical copies. It is worth noting that those who do not already own any of the games are in bad luck, as Syndicate, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and Shadows of the Damned can no longer be purchased digitally. On the other hand, Warp is still available for PC via Steam. Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, a remaster of the game that has Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston as part of the development team, is available for PC and consoles.
The removal of online services is something common, especially in the case of old games, and it is no different with Syndicate, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Shadows of the Damned, and Warp. There are indeed exceptions like Quake, a game that maintains an active community even though it was released almost 30 years ago. But generally what happens is that players migrate to newer titles, making online features no longer necessary in the case of older ones.
Source: Pure Xbox