The online modes and features of some games are going offline soon

May 1, 2014 08:56 GMT  ·  By

Rockstar Games has released a statement about the upcoming closure of the GameSpy multiplayer services and how they affect the online features of its different games, from Max Payne 3 to Grand Theft Auto 4, Red Dead Redemption, Midnight Club Los Angeles, and more.

Rockstar has routed the online features of its many different games through the Social Club, its own service for stat tracking, group management, and other such things.

Unfortunately, quite a lot of older games, besides GTA 5, relied on the GameSpy service to interact with the Social Club, and the upcoming closure of GameSpy servers will affect quite a lot of them.

Rockstar has revealed on its website the different changes that its fans can expect from their games on May 31, when GameSpy goes offline.

"While Grand Theft Auto V is unaffected, our teams are currently working to patch specific older titles to keep the transition as smooth as possible and minimize the impact on online-enabled play and your in-game experience," the studio said.

"The majority of changes will be in the form of Rockstar Social Club services, including stat tracking and leaderboards. Unfortunately, it will be necessary to bid farewell to certain online features in older games. We appreciate the support and continued enthusiasm for the legacy Rockstar Games catalogue, and sincerely apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused."

First up, Grand Theft Auto 5 is completely unaffected, as it doesn’t use the service.

Grand Theft Auto 4, on the other hand, not to mention the GTA 4 Complete and the Episodes from Liberty City expansions, will see the Social Club website stat tracking and leaderboards removed. The leaderboards in the PS3 version are also going away.

Max Payne 3 players on Mac will see the online multiplayer removed entirely, while the rest of the game's online features remain operational.

Red Dead Redemption, the GotY edition, and the Undead Nightmare add-on will have their stat tracking and leaderboards removed, as well as the in-game social club services and the leaderboards on PS3.

Midnight Club Los Angeles and the Complete Edition will see the multiplayer on PS3 go offline, alongside Social Club features and leaderboards. The Rate My Ride and Driving Test unlockables are also going away.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition and the Remix version will have their multiplayer go offline, alongside the leaderboards.

GTA: Chinatown Wars on DS and PSP won't feature the Social Club mini-games, unlockables, or stat tracking.

Last but not least, Beaterator will remove the Social Club features and the in-game track upload and download mechanic.