here are plenty of great free-to-play MMO and multiplayer games that exist right now. Some are absolutely fantastic and keep players coming back, and they might be a bit older than you think. Not all, however, can revel in the successes of their peers. EA, then, is going to be shutting down the servers to several of it’s own free-to-play online PC games.
EA is shutting down Battlefield Heros, Battlefield Play4Free, FIFA World and Need for Speed World. So say goodbye while you still have the chance.
It’s unfortunate that game servers have to be eventually shut off, but profitability and the cost of running those servers is a reality. The lack of popularity combined with the lack of income necessitates the one thing that we never want to see, the complete shutdown of a game. But sometimes it has to be done.
Patrick Söderlund, the EVP of EA, said in a blog post that on July 14th 2015 the servers for Need for Speed World, FIFA World, Battlefield Play4Free and Battlefield Heros will be shut down for good. Apparently those games have been around for five years, but haven’t attracted the kind of wide reaching audience that they’ve wanted.
Not every multiplayer game can be the next Everquest or Battlefield 2, with strong player support and a great community. Even free-to-play MMO’s can be quite successful, just look at Archeage, TERA or WildStar. Those games have a very strong following that will probably persist for quite some time. But perhaps Star Wars the Old Republic also has an almost cult following, with a player base exceeding expectations, but perhaps EA’s future isn’t in the free-to-play PC market. Maybe they need to look to their peers to see how those types of games are truly implemented.
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