Developer Promises To Keep Failed Online Game Servers Up: Art Deserves To Be Preserved

In all of our conversations about video game preservation, one common thread is the general apathy of developers and publishers when it comes to this sort of thing. It's actually a bit mind boggling to me that apathy is even a thing here. After all, this is the work done by these developers and, to a lesser extent, the publishers. When we have seen instances in the past of game servers being shut down, and even more so in cases where publishers have gone after fan-run servers of online games that have already been shut down, this represents the loss and potential erasure of what is often years and years of work by very talented artists and programmers.

It's with that in mind that I found it so refreshing that the developer behind one online game that didn't perform so well, Blindfire, has committed to keeping the servers up and running for years" because they actually take pride in their work.

Blindfirewas released back inOctober 2024with a unique hook: It was an online first-person shooter set in the dark and was built around finding your enemies or remaining out of their sight. Sadly for developer Double Eleven, it never found much ofan audience. Now, a year after its last patch,Blindfirewill get one last big update and will go free, with devs promising to keep the servers on because they are proud of it" and want to preserve it for others.

We are doing this because we believe games are art and they deserve to be preserved," said Double Eleven. We refuse to bury what we built just because things didn't go perfectly. We are keeping it alive because we are proud of it. You won't see adverts or marketing campaigns trying to drag you back in. This is just a gift to those who want to see what we created."

When you read the comments from Double Eleven, you immediately wonder why the hell this isn't the posture of every developer of online games out there. This is their work, after all. Why in the world would they want it scattered to the ether?

Now, this also cannot be the end state, if we're truly looking at this from a preservation standpoint. A commitment directly from the developer to keep the game around for several years is a good thing. But it's perpetuity we're after here, after all. And there's no guarantee that Double Eleven will live on long enough to keep the game available for whatever passes as forever" these days. Coupling this with the eventual release of source code, so that fans and preservationists can scatter the game to the wide ranging corners of the internet, is what will end any danger of this art and culture ever disappearing. That hasn't been done yet, but hopefully Double Eleven is thinking along these same lines.

But if you can find a more human, kind, and engaging message for a situation like this than the following, I'll be surprised.

We loved making [Blindfire]," said the studio on Steam. Watching playtesters get to grips with our twist on the FPS was a massive highlight for us and seeing some big streamers jump into our world was a proper thrill.Blindfirewas a flash in the dark. It was weird, loud, and ours. It is staying online for anyone who wants to play it today, tomorrow or years from now. Thanks for being part of the journey."

Bravo on step 1 in the preservation process, folks. Now let's take this further.