That’s it: a handful of Battlefield games, Dead Space 2, and other EA games have seen their online services and servers shut down. It might seem somewhat inevitable for online games that see their player bases dwindle over time, especially as newer games in their series come out, but it’s still a sad moment.
Seven EA games saw their online services shuttered on Friday, December 8, 2023, with four of those available on PC until then. Absolute classics like Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Dead Space 2 were among them, and some of these can’t even be purchased on digital storefronts anymore either. It’s a sad day for some of the best multiplayer games out there.
Battlefield Bad Company, Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 1943 were even fully delisted from storefronts on April 28, 2023, so you can’t even buy them and play online privately, or experience their campaigns either.
EA online game servers shut down on December 8
Some of these games never came to PC, so not every game in this list is having online services on PC shutdown, but I’ll label the ones that have.
- Dead Space 2 (PC)
- Crysis 3 (PC)
- Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (PC)
- Battlefield Bad Company 2 (PC)
- Battlefield Bad Company
- Battlefield 1943
- Dante’s Inferno
The Dead Space 2 shutdown has been a particularly touching one, as while you can still easily pick up and play the game via Game Pass and Steam on PC, the multiplayer for the game, which saw humans face off against Necromorphs Left 4 Dead 2 style, is gone forever.
Dead Space 2 is a phenomenal game, and that campaign alone is worth the price of admission, but I always had a good time with the multiplayer side. The Dead Space Necroposting Discord actually got together to celebrate the multiplayer in organized play sessions, emphasizing people record and screenshot what they could.
Reddit user CDLX02 also shares footage of the last seconds of a Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam match: the gameplay cuts to black mid-game, the menu loads up, and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son starts playing. I can’t think of anything better.
I’m not here to tell you that all of these games had bustling multiplayer player bases in 2023, because they didn’t. That’s not to discount how it can feel like the end of an era when online services go, well, offline. Seeing people come together, like they did for Dead Space 2, just shows how many people will actually miss these experiences when they’re gone.
That’s the trouble with online games; while many of us want to keep these things alive and documented, if we haven’t by the time they go offline, they’re just gone forever.
So next time you hear about a game shutdown, get your mates back together, record some footage, take some screenshots, and remember the good times.
If you want some online fun we’ve also got the best PC games for you, alongside some great free Steam games to keep you busy as well.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.
