WTF?! We live in a time when digital game ownership, or lack thereof, is under the spotlight like never before. Bringing more attention to the situation is the cloud version of Aliens: Fireteam Elite on the Nintendo Switch. Servers for the $30 game ($60 for the Ultimate Edition) are being shut down, meaning "owners" can no longer play it. Even worse, developer Cold Iron Studios isn't offering any refunds, just an apology for the "inconvenience" and a discount for the Switch 2 version of the game that people already paid for.
Buyers of the Switch version of Aliens: Fireteam Elite, which was a very disappointing 2021 take on the popular franchise, were even more disappointed in March when Cold Iron Studios said the game would shut down on August 5. The game was also delisted from the Switch eShop earlier this year, writes TheGamer.
The Switch version of the third-person shooter was only available through the cloud, meaning that, unlike those games that also have their servers shut down, both multiplayer and single-player modes are being terminated.
Delisted Games reported at the time that Switch players saw a pop-up in the game informing them of the bad news. "Thank you for playing our game. We sincerely appreciate your support. The game will be accessible until August 5, 2026, 23:59 JST. After that, you will no longer be able to access the game," it read.
"We apologize to our loyal customers for any inconvenience this may cause, and we appreciate your understanding. We hope you will continue to enjoy our other game titles."
Just how much understanding players will have after a game they paid $30 or $60 for is taken away from them is unclear. No refunds are being offered; instead, they can get a discount for the Switch 2 version of the game, essentially letting them pay twice for the same thing.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite was a notorious flop, and it can still be bought on disc or downloaded for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, as well as downloaded on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. That suggests there weren't many people playing the Switch version, so Cold Iron Studios likely decided the bad publicity from closing the servers was worth the savings from no longer keeping them running.
The fact that the game's sequel, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, launches on August 25 likely played a part in the decision, too.
The shutdown comes amid a growing fight over game ownership and preservation. Sony's controversial plan to stop producing physical PlayStation games in 2028 has prompted two Mexican lawmakers to take the company to court, though the European Commission said it could not intervene.
The Commission also rejected the central demand of the Stop Killing Games campaign, which wants publishers to ensure purchased games remain playable after support ends. A similar battle is unfolding in California, where the industry is opposing legislation that would require publishers to provide a remedy before shutting down game servers.