A dated record of multiplayer hosting and backend services that have shut down, changed hands, or are retiring.
For each one: the official dates, what stopped, what kept running, and where customers were sent.
Every line links to the provider's own notice.
Customers could move to Multiplay by Rocket Science, which provides a configuration importer, or to another hosting provider. Projects on Unity Matchmaker v2 must move to v3 first.
Unity points to Netcode for GameObjects, Netcode for Entities, and the Unity Gaming Services Relay and Lobby. Unity also names third-party libraries such as Mirror.
AWS lists AccelByte, Beamable and Heroic Labs (Nakama), plus its own guidance for building a custom game backend on AWS.
The records
Newest first. Dates are as published by the provider; where two official sources disagree, we show both.
Retiring
Amazon GameLift Servers on Windows Server 2016
AWS · Server hosting (operating system support)
GameLift Servers is retiring Windows Server 2016 builds and fleets, in line with the end of Microsoft extended support. Fleets still on Windows Server 2016 after 30 March 2027 will be scaled down and terminated.
GameLift Servers adds Windows Server 2022 builds.
Customers with no active Windows Server 2016 fleet can only create Windows Server 2022 builds and fleets.
GameLift Servers retires Windows Server 2016 support, the date Microsoft extended support ends.
Last day to create Windows Server 2016 builds and fleets. After this date, remaining fleets are scaled down and terminated.
What stopped
Windows Server 2016 as a build operating system. AWS says it will not extend the date.
What kept running
GameLift Servers itself. Linux builds are not affected.
Where customers went
Windows Server 2022, which GameLift supports through 13 October 2031.
Fireworks AI acquired Hathora, and Hathora left the game infrastructure business. The platform was frozen when the deal was announced, and gaming customers were handed to GameFabric by Nitrado.
Acquisition by Fireworks AI announced. Hathora says the platform is frozen with immediate effect and will shut down after 90 days.
Support for gaming customers ends, according to the founders’ post as reported by GamesBeat.
What stopped
All game server hosting, support and administration.
Where customers went
Hathora named GameFabric by Nitrado as its exclusive transition partner. As of November 2026, Hathora’s blog URLs serve GameFabric’s site.
Note. Hathora’s notice gives a 90-day window, which would end in early June. The founders’ post, as GamesBeat reports it, gives 5 May (GamesBeat prints the year as 2025, which is a typo). We list 5 May as the end of support.
Unity stopped running Multiplay itself and licensed the software to Rocket Science Group, a company founded by former Multiplay staff. Multiplay still operates, but it is no longer a Unity service.
Unity ends direct support for Multiplay Game Server Hosting.
Unity customers can no longer scale new servers or make new allocations, except those already migrating to Rocket Science.
Multiplay relaunches under Rocket Science Group and opens to new studios. It reports more than 60 live clients.
What stopped
Multiplay as part of Unity Gaming Services. Unity no longer hosts dedicated game servers.
What kept running
Unity Matchmaker, Relay and Lobby. The Multiplay platform itself, now operated by Rocket Science Group.
Where customers went
Customers could move to Multiplay by Rocket Science, which provides a configuration importer, or to another hosting provider. Projects on Unity Matchmaker v2 must move to v3 first.
Note. Calling Multiplay "shut down" is inaccurate. Unity ended its own service; the platform continues independently.
AWS ended support for SimSpace Weaver, its managed service for running large spatial simulations across EC2 instances. AWS now lists it under full shutdown.
Service launch.
End of support date on the AWS full shutdown list.
End of support date in the SimSpace Weaver user guide, after which the console and resources are no longer accessible.
What stopped
The console, the API and all SimSpace Weaver resources.
Where customers went
AWS did not name a replacement service in the sources we checked.
Note. Two AWS pages give different end dates. We show both.
UNet was Unity’s networking stack from 2014: a low-level API, a high-level API, and cloud Relay and Matchmaker services. Unity deprecated all of it in 2018 and shut the cloud services down in 2025.
Unity deprecates all of UNet.
The high-level API is removed from the Package Manager registry from Unity 2021.2.
The low-level API is removed from the Unity 2022.2 editor stream.
UNet Relay and Matchmaker services shut down. Games that depend on them stop working online.
What stopped
UNet Relay and Matchmaker. Multiplayer features that depend on them.
What kept running
LAN and direct peer-to-peer play, if a game implements it.
Where customers went
Unity points to Netcode for GameObjects, Netcode for Entities, and the Unity Gaming Services Relay and Lobby. Unity also names third-party libraries such as Mirror.
GameLift ended support for Windows Server 2012 builds when Microsoft support for the operating system ended. Tutorials that upload WINDOWS_2012 builds no longer work.
GameLift adds Windows Server 2016. New customers must use it for Windows builds.
Windows Server 2012 support ends. Existing customers had to migrate before this date.
What stopped
Windows Server 2012 as a build operating system.
What kept running
GameLift itself.
Where customers went
Windows Server 2016, which is itself retiring (see above), then Windows Server 2022.
Google Cloud · Managed game server orchestration (Agones)
Game Servers was Google Cloud’s managed service for running Agones fleets across Kubernetes clusters. It went GA in 2020 and was shut down in 2023. Its product pages now redirect to Google Cloud’s games solutions page.
General availability.
Google removes the Game Servers API from its Go client library, citing the deprecation.
The Terraform Google provider removes Game Services resources for version 5.0.0.
What stopped
The managed Game Servers API and console: realms, clusters, deployments and rollouts.
What kept running
Agones, the open-source orchestrator underneath it. Google donated Agones to the CNCF in March 2026.
Where customers went
Google points studios to Agones on Google Kubernetes Engine, installed and run by the studio.
Note. We found no dated public shutdown notice. Google’s status page now says the service has been shut down; the dates above come from Google’s own client libraries.
GameSparks was a backend-as-a-service for leaderboards, player data and cloud code that AWS acquired in 2017. AWS closed it to new sign-ups in 2021 and switched off console access in October 2022.
New account sign-ups and game creation disabled.
No new games can be published to the Live stage.
Last day for existing Live games to publish new snapshots.
Console access ends. Games and data had to be migrated before this date.
What stopped
The console, the platform and the games running on it.
Where customers went
AWS referred customers to vetted AWS Consulting Partners for migration to other backends.
Amazon GameSparks was a new, serverless backend service that AWS launched in preview in March 2022. It is a different product from the original GameSparks. It never left preview, and AWS no longer accepts new customers.
Preview launch, with a Unity SDK, in US East (N. Virginia).
What stopped
New customer sign-ups. AWS has not published a closure date.
Where customers went
AWS lists AccelByte, Beamable and Heroic Labs (Nakama), plus its own guidance for building a custom game backend on AWS.
Still running. New library releases stopped for XDK and Windows 7 on 1 August 2023 and for 32-bit Android on 19 October 2023; existing titles keep working.
We only list a date when the provider published it, or when a primary record (a status page, an official client library, a press release) shows it. News coverage is used only where the provider's own post is no longer online.
Scope: services that host game servers or run multiplayer backends, and operating-system retirements that break existing server builds. Engines and consumer apps are out of scope.
Each record shows when we last checked it. We re-check every entry at least once a quarter, and whenever a provider posts a new notice.
Gameye runs game server orchestration, so we compete with some services on this page, and some former Hathora customers now run on Gameye. To keep the record neutral, Gameye is not listed as a destination for any service.
Spotted an error or a missing service? Email hello@gameye.com with a link to the official notice.
To cite this page: Gameye, "Game server hosting and backend shutdowns", https://gameye.com/game-hosting-shutdowns/, last verified 6 November 2026.
