15 'Always Online' Games That You Can't Play Anymore

Live service games are everywhere, but they don't always work. Here are some horror stories.

by Matthew Maidment
anthem game
Bioware

These days, it seems like we can't go five minutes without either hearing about a new live-service game being announced or a new live-service game being taken offline. But before we were over-encumbered with live-service games, we had the 'always-online' video game. These are the games that always required an internet connection to play, even when it didn't seem necessary. 

These games don't always work. Games like Destiny and Overwatch are almost a rarity, with the majority of games of a similar ilk tending to get switched offline, meaning they'll never be playable again. 

With that being said, here is a list of 'always online' video games that you can't play anymore.

15. Blacklight Retribution

Blacklight Retribution came out at a tricky time. 2012 saw Mass Effect 3, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, and the biggest release of the year, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. So it would come as no surprise that the sequel to the mixed-reviewed Blacklight: Tango Down would be released and go pretty much unnoticed. 

Which is a shame because Blacklight: Retribution actually received much better critic scores than its predecessor. Retribution was one of the first of its kind, a free-to-play first-person shooter with frequent updates to keep players engaged. The game had a unique (for the time) cyberpunk aesthetic that tried something that other FPS games weren't doing, such as weapon depots found scattered across maps that could be used to acquire health, weapons and the Hyper Reality Visor that could be used to see enemies through walls. 

Blacklight: Retribution stayed online until August 2025, a whole 13 years. Which, for a free-to-play FPS game that had to fight off Call of Duty, Battlefield and the influx of battle-royale games, isn't something to be disappointed with. 

 
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Hey, I’m Matt. I work full-time at WhatCulture's neighbours, MyVoucherCodes. I first joined MyVoucherCodes as a Deals Expert, scouring the internet, leaving no stone unturned in finding the best discount codes, sales and offers for our customers. Moving into my first home during the worst possible time (during lockdown), I understand the necessity of saving money when the purse strings are tight. Outside of saving money, I’m into video games, movies, books and music. I host and edit a video game podcast called The Retry Hard Podcast, where my friend and I go through news, reviews and video games in general. I love movies and watching how they’re made, and I’ve worked as a set decorator for a few months on His Dark Materials season 3, which gave me a massive insight into how it all comes together. I also put out music as a solo artist named Matt Kiano, where I won the award for Best Male Artist of 2025 for Radio Wigwam and have been nomiated for Best Live Act at the 2026 Radio Wigwam Awards.