A game called Deceive Inc., which launched on PC and consoles in March 2023, has decided to rebuild its backend to help fans keep it alive now that the developer has closed its doors. While Deceive Inc. isn't the first game to put its future in the hands of its PC players, it has earned plenty of respect from gamers for going the extra mile and reworking its entire backend to avoid a shutdown.
Publisher-imposed deaths for online games have been a hot topic in gaming communities in recent years. One of the most notable examples came when Ubisoft decided to shut down The Crew after nearly 10 years of support. Ubisoft's choice sparked the Stop Killing Games movement, which continues to push back against publishers that sunset their games.
When a game has a passionate community and dedicated fans, it gets a lifeline that keeps it alive even past its 'official' death.
Announced in a Steam community post, developer Sweet Bandit said, "Although [we] had to close [our] doors, we don't believe Deceive Inc. should quietly disappear because the services behind it aren't sustainable forever." Despite the many technical challenges involved, the team has reworked the game's backend...
