As more and more mobile games and live service games are shut down, players’ discussions on “game preservation” continue to heat up. At a recent shareholder meeting, a shareholder directly asked Square Enix whether players would still have the opportunity to experience many of its old games, mobile games, and online services once they cease operations. In this regard, Square Enix admitted that the company does not promise to make all games permanently playable, but will continue to find ways to suit each work so that players can still access these works after the service ends.
Not every game can be turned into an offline version?
Square Enix says that the nature of each game is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all save scheme. Taking the “NieR” series as an example, officials will share relevant content through live broadcasts; other works may save plot animations to audio and video platforms so that players can at least review the story. They emphasized that they will continue to create “suitable preservation methods” for different works in the future, but did not promise to launch an offline version or make the game operate permanently.
What I want is to play games, not watch videos!
This response quickly sparked heated discussions in the player community. Many players believe that uploading cutscenes to audio and video platforms cannot truly replace the game itself, nor can it solve the problem of being unable to play after the server is stopped. Many people on Reddit also pointed out that they hope that the official can at least launch an offline version like “Dragon Quest X Offline” or some discontinued mobile games, so that players can retain the complete experience instead of just leaving the plot movie.
“Save” and “playable” are still two different things
In recent years, the “Stop Killing Games” movement has continued to grow, and Sony has announced that it will stop launching new PlayStation physical discs in 2028, making the issue of game preservation once again become the focus. Although Square Enix has expressed its willingness to find ways to save different works this time, for many players, what they really want to keep is never the plot film, but the ability to open the game again and re-experience the adventure of the year.