Knockout City is shutting down online services, but devs promise server hosting tools for PC

Knockout City didn't end up being the multiplayer hit the developers were hoping for, and while the team will be moving on from the game soon and shutting down official servers, the game won't be left to wither away. Rather than letting development efforts go to waste, the team is now preparing a private server update for the game on PC, allowing the community to keep the game alive. 

We've seen many multiplayer games shut down services over the years. While in the old days of PC gaming, private servers and hosting tools were more common, nowadays it is rare to see that stuff included in games, meaning once a developer decides to move on, these titles end up being inaccessible. That won't be happening with Knockout City.

The developers have already stuck with the game through some tough times. Initially, the game launched in 2021, with EA as the publisher. However, one year after launch, EA dropped out and Velan Studios took on self-publishing duties instead.

Unfortunately, the game still hasn't found a sustainable audience over the past year and as a result, Velan Studios is winding down development. Season 9 will be the game's final season, and then on the 6th of June, the game's official servers will go offline for all platforms, including console and PC.

While the game will no longer be available on console, it will live on for PC players. In an effort to ensure the game can “live forever”, Velan Studios is now preparing private server hosting tools for the PC version. There will be more details shared on this soon, but hopefully it will end up being a simple and easy solution.

Such a move ensures the game can be preserved for future generations and it allows fans to revisit it at any time, even if they do have to put in some extra work getting a group of players together.

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KitGuru Says: A move like this proves that this game was a passion project and not just seen as a money-making scheme. It is certainly something I think we all wish more developers would do when sunsetting online game services. 

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