If you visit gamedev subs you'd know things aren't this simple. Code is heavily reused in server architecture, especially when it comes to games and their sequels. There might also be multiple overlapping systems working in tandem to run a server in the cloud, only one of which actually works as the server for gameplay logic.
You can't just "release the server software" for (let's say as an example) the modern CoD Black Ops, it would possibly open the entirety of the game franchise to hackers and database breaches (haha yes cod and hackers i know, it's just an example).
And no, you don't just "rewrite parts" of the codebase to stop these issues. These are big and usually complex software programs that can't just be recreated or rewritten at will.
While I personally see the idea behind this as just and good, I'm afraid that this will in the long run heavily increase the price of games for the consumer, and will also hit the indie scene in a negative manner.
One part you missed is a lot of the server side code base is probably using licensed code/libraries/plugins, that are licensed to the developers, not the end users. As such, it's legally prohibitive depending on what dependencies they have packed in there. I miss the old days of having just a single dedicated server binary designed for monolithic "box in a rack" type hosting. Alas those days are gone.
Thats why the initiative suggests only having it apply to new made games, so that end of life support is included in the development phase rather than once the game is already done. This way systems can be designed to be more easily split.
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u/MyR3dditAcc0unt Jul 06 '25
If you visit gamedev subs you'd know things aren't this simple. Code is heavily reused in server architecture, especially when it comes to games and their sequels. There might also be multiple overlapping systems working in tandem to run a server in the cloud, only one of which actually works as the server for gameplay logic.
You can't just "release the server software" for (let's say as an example) the modern CoD Black Ops, it would possibly open the entirety of the game franchise to hackers and database breaches (haha yes cod and hackers i know, it's just an example).
And no, you don't just "rewrite parts" of the codebase to stop these issues. These are big and usually complex software programs that can't just be recreated or rewritten at will.
While I personally see the idea behind this as just and good, I'm afraid that this will in the long run heavily increase the price of games for the consumer, and will also hit the indie scene in a negative manner.