Epic Games shuts down online services for old games

San Francisco, Dec 15 Video game developer Epic Games has announced that it is shutting down online services and servers for many older games including 'Rock Band 1-3' and 'Unreal Tournament 2003'.

Most games will allow players to play offline, while some will no longer be playable, Epic Games said in a blogpost on Wednesday.

The changes aim to support Epic Online Services with its unified friends system, voice chat features, parental controls and parental verification features.

The company also apologised to the players affected by the changes.

"We have started removing games that were still available from all digital storefronts and are disabling any in-game downloadable content (DLC) purchasing as of today," the game developer said.

The company will refund players for any in-game purchases made via Epic direct payment 180 days prior to December 14.

Meanwhile, last week, the video game developer had added new for-kids accounts in 'Fortnite', 'Rocket League' and 'Fall Guys' games.

'Cabined Accounts' provides a personalised experience that is safe and inclusive for younger players.