Epic Games is shutting down "out-of-date online services" and servers for several of its older games, including multiple Rock Band and Unreal titles, starting today. The company notes that most affected games will still be available offline, but others will no longer work. It says the move is part of a shift that will only see it support online functions through Epic Online Services, which offers a unified friends system, voice chat, parental controls and parental verification.
Epic is removing the mobile title DropMix and the Mac and Linux versions of Hatoful Boyfriend and Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star from storefronts today. You'll still be able to play these games if you already own them.
Servers for several games will be shut down on January 24th, but Epic has already started delisting them from digital storefronts and turning off in-game purchases. After that date, you'll still be able to play the following offline in single or local multiplayer modes:
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1000 Tiny Claws
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Dance Central 1-3
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Green Day: Rock Band
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Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess
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Rock Band 1-3
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The Beatles: Rock Band
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Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars
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Unreal Gold
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Unreal II: The Awakening
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Unreal Tournament 2003
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Unreal Tournament 2004
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Unreal Tournament 3
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Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition
Dance Central VR and Rock Band 4 online multiplayer features will remain available. Epic also plans to restore online features to Unreal Tournament 3 down the line. It will integrate Epic Online Services into the game.
Battle Breakers, a hero collector RPG that a small team of Epic developers built inhouse and released in 2019, will shut down on December 30th. Epic will refund all in-game purchases made through its direct payment system in the 180 days before today. As of January 24th, the alpha of the Unreal Tournament reboot, Rock Band Blitz, the Rock Band companion app and SingSpace will no longer be available.
It's unclear how many people are still playing the Unreal Tournament and Rock Band titles but at their peaks, they were among the biggest franchises around. It's a shame to see Epic sunsetting these games and all the others on the list. Still, if you happen to have a Rock Band guitar or drum set gathering dust, this may at least be a decent reminder to bust those out and play along to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" or "Basket Case."
Meanwhile, Rock Band developer Harmonix, which Epic bought last year, recently announced that its most recent game, Fuser, will go offline. The studio will also stop selling the game and in-game purchases on December 19th.