GAMERS beware: a load of titles are shutting down in one way or another this year.
If you’re the proud owner of an Xbox, PlayStation or gaming PC, you might be cut off some iconic games in 2025.
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Here are five titles affected by closures this year.
GAME #1 – Skyforge
If you haven’t heard of it, Skyforge is an massively multiplayer RPG set in a sci-fi fantasy world.
It launched back in 2015, but is finally going offline after 10 years.
“It is incredibly difficult for us to share the following news,” the game creators said.
“Unfortunately the Skyforge project is going to be closed, and its servers in Europe and America shut down.”
Payments have already been disabled on the game, and it’ll switch off for PC players on September 3.
That’ll be followed by a console closure across Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.
The console closure date is set later, on October 29.
GAME #2 – WWE 2K24
Wrestling fans are also facing a closure: this time it’s WWE 2K24.
The wrestling title – published by 2K – came out on March 8, 2024.
But the game’s online servers are due to be closed down on September 30, 2025.
The core game will still be playable, so your money isn’t entirely wasted.
But you’ll lose access to online matches as well as the Community Creations feature.
GAME #3 – Madden NFL 22
Then there’s another blow to sports fans who snapped up Madden NFL 22.
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The American Football came was released on August 20, 2021, with Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady starring on the cover.
But on October 20, 2025, the game’s online services will switch off.
That means you won’t be able to access any of the online multiplayer modes.
GAME #4 – Rust: Console Edition
Multiplayer survival game Rust is also getting killed off – at least on certain consoles.
WHY DO GAMES SHUT DOWN?
By The Sun’s tech editor Sean Keach…
It’s simple: money.
When a game is entirely online – or has online features – then there’s a cost associated with that.
The game developer is having to pay to run servers so you can play.
And they’ll need developers working on fixing bugs, staff catching cheaters, customer support staff, and more.
Over time, as player counts dwindle, it becomes less economically viable to offer these services.
That’s especially true for sports games where newer versions come out – drawing away players from the older titles.
In those cases, it’s usually just the online service that is pulled.
But some games – like MMORPGs – are entirely online. There’s no offline mode to fall back on.
In those cases, the games are often shut down entirely.
In some cases, players will set up their own private version of the game to let it live on.
But dwindling players for an MMO is a bad sign – and usually means the game isn’t far from its own doomsday.
Other times, a game closes due to an overall studio shutdown.
But generally, it’s because the cost of supporting the game is too high versus the money coming in from players.
Picture Credit: Sean Keach
Rust first launched in ‘early access’ back in 2013 before an official release in 2018.
But the “old-gen” version of Rust is being binned – that’s the one made for PS4 and Xbox One.
The game became unavailable to download as of May 29, 2025.
And it’ll eventually become totally unplayable in October.
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If you want to keep playing, you’ll need to upgrade to the next-gen version – built for the newer Xbox Series X/S and PS5 consoles.
That upgrade will be available for free, but it’s only out on the new consoles – not the old ones.
GAME #5 – Fifa 23
It’s not just American Football getting a closure – regular footie is also facing a chop.
Fifa 23 will have its online servers shut down on December 12, 2025.
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That’ll affect players on PS4 and PS5, all Xbox models, PC, and the Nintendo Switch.
It means the game’s online features will be switched off, blocking all multiplayer.
This was notably the last EA Fifa game, before the publisher switched to EA Sports FC – so it’s an extra tragedy.
