11 EA Games Are Closing Their Xbox Servers In The Next Few Months

The list continues to grow

by Fraser Gilbert Mon 17th Oct 2022

11 EA Games Are Closing Their Xbox Servers In The Next Few Months 2

Back in early August, we brought the news that a bunch of EA games were set to close their online servers in the near future, and the company has since added to that list with quite a few additions, so let's take a look at the updates.

Of the new additions to the list, the highlights this time around are arguably the original Mirror's Edge and the cult hit Onrush. Any online features will no longer be available in these titles after their closure dates.

Without further ado, let's get to the full confirmed list of upcoming closures so far:

October 20th, 2022

Army of Two: The 40th Day
Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel

(Dragon Age: Origins is also shutting its "MP Screenshots Server")

November 9th, 2022

November 30th, 2022

Onrush

January 19th, 2023

While some of these games are primarily single-player affairs, they may contain online features such as leaderboards, which presumably will no longer be accessible after their respective closure dates.

EA has the following to say about the server closure process on its website:

"As games are replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the games that have been live for some time dwindles to a level – typically fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles – where it’s no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping the online services for these games up and running."

"In some instances, where the online services for a particular game may no longer be available or supported, the game may still be played and enjoyed offline. Depending on the type of game, and the particular services which may no longer be supported, players’ inventory of virtual currency and/or in-game items may continue to be used, whether or not the applicable in-game store is open or disabled, and whether or not the game is still available for sale to new users."

In addition to the games listed above, EA also recently shut down the servers for Dirt 4 and Dirt Rally, which occurred when the two games left Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. We'll probably have more news to share on EA server closures in the not-too-distant future, so as soon as we have something substantial to report, we'll let you know.

Disappointed with the server closures for any of these? Let us know in the comments below.

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

[source ea.com, via trueachievements.com]

Fraser is the News Editor at Pure Xbox, where he spends his time reporting on the biggest stories in the world of Xbox and beyond.

1
101Force
Mon 17th Oct 2022

I was under the impression that services like Xbox Gold exist because the game servers were being maintained by Microsoft (or Sony in the case of PlayStation Network), so if that's not the case — as these servers are clearly being maintained by the games' publisher — what does Xbox Gold pay for, exactly?

2
AverageGamer
Mon 17th Oct 2022

@101Force "IF" Gold was for the upkeep of servers. It was never for 3rd party server... It was for Xbox Live servers, and Xbox first party game servers.

3
somnambulance
Mon 17th Oct 2022

These are some vintage titles. I can’t imagine many of them getting significant traffic in 2022 though.

Jeez, though, I wish we’d get another Mirror’s Edge though. Wasn’t a fan of Catalyst, but the first one was so good. I’d like to see more of that world.

4
BBB
Mon 17th Oct 2022

Old games are old and all things end eventually .... shrugs

It's not like there is a shortage of games that 11 going away is the apocalypse

5
PartyMarty
Mon 17th Oct 2022

Disappointed about Onrush given it only came out in 2018. But I guess if it's not being played then it makes sense.

6
CaptainCluck
Mon 17th Oct 2022

Meanwhile, we see entire cancelled MMORPGs being revived on PC.

7
MinervaX
Mon 17th Oct 2022

@101Force Gold Live is used for voice chat and many aspects of matchmaking. Without it every game would be forced to ask you to register a user name and password before being able to hop online, something that can add friction to community growth (unless you are the likes of Fortnite.)

Actual game servers are handled by the publishers, IF the game requires dedicated servers. Many players prefer dedicated servers because there is no risk of everyone dropping or suffering if the host has a bad connection.

Peer to peer games that have no dedicated servers almost always exclusively rely on Xbox Live and will be playable online so long as the Live network is up and running. But as noted above, games can suffer if the host has a bad connection.

Edit to add: another advantage or dedicated servers is they can do a lot of heavy lifting logic on the servers, with the clients only displaying the end results (insert “the power of the cloud!” memes here). Sadly it means when the publisher loses interest to maintain the servers, they are bye bye.

8
jkald
Tue 18th Oct 2022

Really glad I went to try and get achievements in some of these as I've quite enjoyed Mercs 2 and C&C. Same with Splinter Cell recently with the Ubisoft shutdowns.