The digital age of gaming is here to stay. It could be cited as being introduced with computers way back in the 90s, or even through services like the Sega Channel for the Sega Genesis. However, it wasn’t as widespread back then as it was with the dawn of Xbox Live on Xbox 360. After that, every console has had a digital market place, w💖hich is both good and bad in a myriad of ways.
On the plus side, it led to the indie game revolution we are now currently in. On top of that, even 𝓡big publishers have made smaller games and introduced DLC to the equation, although some consider this a negative.
On the bad side of things, this also means that digital exclusives can easily vanish or become unplayable. Without a hard copy on a cartridge, or a disc, games like P.T. can disappear forever on🌌 a company’s whim. The worst ones are games that are on꧃line-only like these ten that are no longer officially available to buy or play.
10 Marvel Heroes
Marvel Heroes originally launched for PC platforms in 2013 and was rebranded as Marvel Heroes Omega when it re♛leased for PS4 and Xbox One in June 2017.
That month is important to note because it shut down just a few months later, even on PC, that November. After waiting four years, this was a big letdown for console fans, especially since this was a pretty good entry in the Diablo-style of RPGs.
9 Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies released for PC in 2003 and due to a new MMO about to premiere, The Old Republic, it was deci꧃ded to shut this down. That was in 2011, whic🐲h was, funnily enough, less than a week before the new MMO launched.
Like most Star Wars properties, it had a lot of fans, even though it was pretty archaic kind of like Final Fantasy XI. For those that ⛄put in the time, it was deeply rewarding.
8 MAG
MAG launched in 2010 exclusively on PS3 and servers shut down in 2014. It came from a good studio, Zipper Interactive, who made it big with SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs and its sequels on PS2.
It was ambitious, creating a massive online shooter experience to make playeꦍrs feel like they were really in a war zone, almost like the current landscape of Battle Royale clones. It was just a little ahead of its time.
7 Dragon Ball Online
Yes, there was a game called Dragon Ball Online and it released on PC in 2010 in Asian territoriཧes. Why put it on here if most Western fa🎐ns never played it let alone heard of it? Well, the legacy is interesting.
See, all regions of the game were shut down in 2013, but the team then went on to create a spiritual successor, Dragon Ball Xenoverse. It had less character customization options, but as a conversion to consoles, it ultimatelyღ worked well🅘 enough.
6 Final Fantasy XIV
The original, vanilla, version of Final Fantasy XIV launched on PC in 2010 to much disgrace. So much so that the PS3 version of the game was delayed until 2011 and eventually canceled for the team to fully remake the game. In 2013 it was rebranded as A Realm Reborn, which was like night and day.
Now it, and its continued succession of expansions, have been heralded as some of the best storytelling in any game in th👍e series. It’s actually probably good then that no one can play⛎ the original, but admittedly, we are curious to go back.
5 1 vs 100
1 vs 100, based off of the game show, 🎀released exclusively on Xbox 360 digitally as a timed, weekly show. It had two seasons in 2009, but did🎀 not return the next year.
Players could log in for a chance to either be the 1 or in the audience of 100. There were even prizes. This too was a concept ahead of its time and the closest thing since has been HQ Trivia.
4 Eve: Dust 514
Dust 514 launched exclusively for PS3 in 2013 before shutting down in 2016. As the name might suggest, it is a spinoff of Eve, meant to serve as a shooter to simulate ♉ground warfare, tying into battles found i♈n the main MMO.
It was a lofty idea that didn’t♈ quite work out the way it was intended. As we have said many times before, it was ahead of its time. Perhaps one day this can be revived.
3 Guitar Hero Live
Guitar Hero Live released on a plethora of consoles in 2015. While there are games on the disc, the majority of the game’s music was found𝕴 through a service that had players stream music, hence the “live” aspect in thꦚe title.
This means that the setlistꦑ went from five hundred to about forty in 2018. So technically it is still playable, but as over 90% of the game’s content went up in smoke, we think that is enough to c🎀ount it for this list.
2 Battlefield Heroes
Battlefield Heroes launched for PC in 2009 and the game shut down in 2015 along with other free to play browser titles in EA’s franchises such as Need for Speed. This was a direct launch to compete with other “whacky” team shooters such as Team Fortress 2 at the time.
It wasn’t as robus♎t as the main series, what with the destructibility, but it was still a good time. Being able to run it t🌌hrough a browser on most computers was also a plus.
1 Miiverse
Miivꦓerse technically is not a game, but still a crime against users. It released with the Wii U in 2012 and shut down services in 2017, not long after the Switch was 🍃released. Instead of integrating this chat service into that console, Nintendo thought it best to destroy it.
Yes, it wasn’t just shut down, but old posts were taken offline too. It was an🙈 innovative way for people to chat in ga🦂mes via text, or doodles. It even acted as a hint system. Hopefully, Nintendo puts something like this into the Switch soon.