Why did Blizzard shutdown Overwatch 1 servers?

Based on my opinion… game studios like Blizzard, tend to shutdown game servers in order to drive people towards their other/new products. And, when a game’s servers get shutdown, the multiplayer game (which you bought) becomes completely unplayable, wherever you are!

In this case, after Overwatch 1 servers got shutdown, players had to move on to Overwatch 2. Whether they wanted to, or not. Simply put, if you loved Overwatch 1 and its lore, you had no choice after Blizzard shutdown Overwatch 1 servers. All roads led to Overwatch 2, where players had to go and buy new things.

Studios who behave like that might site things like ‘costs of running servers’ and stuff. But ultimately, its just a money-grabbing spree. They need maximum profits from their next/other products (skins and cosmetic stuff are all big business, even in free games). And as such, older (perfectly functioning games) tend to get shutdown. This is one of the main reasons why blogs like mine are always advocating for games to include offline bots. But, we have allowed the stigmatisation of ‘bots’ to go on for too long. And now, we are left with games that can be shutdown. Which then serves and profits big studios.

Laws about the shutting down of game servers

If you are one of the people who says – I paid for Overwatch 1. How can they just shut it down? Don’t I own the game, having paid 30 or 40 dollars? You might enjoy reading this law discussion thread. Trust me, it’s very interesting! I’m not a lawyer, but the questions and comments on that thread are eye-opening.

Is it legal for game studios to shutdown servers?

As a teaser of what to expect in that link (attached above), let me take out a few points from there.

One person asked, “I paid 30/40 bucks for the right to own Overwatch 1 (did I?) and to play it.” And he went on to add how its no longer playable, anymore! He was answered like this, “I believe you have just misunderstood what you paid for. Blizzard’s End User License Agreement says: Your use of the Platform is licensed, not sold, to you, and you hereby acknowledge that no title or ownership with respect to the Platform or the Games is being transferred or assigned and this Agreement should not be construed as a sale of any rights..”

The shutdown of Overwatch 1 servers

The answer he got above was later on challenged by others in this manner – “Since we buy games using a button that says ‘buy’ or ‘purchase,’ instead of a button that says ‘License.’ Isn’t that somekinda fraud? And, another supporting person went on to say, “Just because the fine print says that X means Y, doesn’t mean it can’t (also, or instead) mean Z, based on common usage. Courts can and do rule that words mean what a reasonable person would take them to mean on the face of it, rather than a technical or situational meaning.”

Which was followed by, “In court, consumer contract law seems to be evaluated based on what a “reasonable person” would think given the context of the contract. And, each participant at the time of execution. It hasn’t been tested in court, but it’s a well-established fact that nearly all (reasonable) people ignore the EULA/TOS. [We usually] just click the button that finalizes the process. Given this common knowledge, I think eventually it will be incumbent on the seller to force the buyer to overtly prove an understanding. Rather than just saying “I understand” before finalizing the agreement. ATM, I think it’s all debatable.“

Yes, its all very debatable indeed! I strongly encourage all gamers to stop shunning bots. Especially games with offline bots. This will help us to save the games we love, even if its only in part. Read about the misconceptions surrounding games with bots here.