One of the disadvantages of multiplayer games being long in the tooth is that sooner or later, the publisher pulls the plug on the servers thus making the game unplayable online. Then you have people like the “Revive Team,” a group of Battlefield fans who want to make the older Battlefield games (2142, Battlefield 2) playable online. 

Well, it seems that won’t be happening now,or ever, The Revive Network, which has spent three years to make “dead” Battlefield games playable online again after GameSpy (multiplayer server service) went down, has been asked by EA to politely not to continue with their projects.

Here’s the letter The Revive Network Team has issued to their supporters.

Hello everyone,

We will get right to the point: Electronic Arts Inc.’ legal team has contacted us and nicely asked us to stop distributing and using their intellectual property. As diehard fans of the franchise, we will respect these stipulations.

Over the past 3 and a half years, Revive Network has filled a void in nearly 1 million players’ hearts by bringing favorite titles back to life after online services were closed after the GameSpy shutdown. Only a few months ago, we took on the task of bringing multiplayer services online for a fan-favorite, Battlefield Heroes. The public reception for our efforts on this title were massive, and we never expected it to become as big as it was.

At this time, file downloads will be disabled.

This is probably the part where we have to say good bye. Before we leave the battlefield, we would like to thank all of the developers, artists, moderators, and last but not least every single player that helped make all of this a reality. Without you, it would not have become such a great time.

Signing off, 
– The Revive Network Team

In case you’re curious, here’s EA’s take down request, which, at the very least, was very polite and not in any way like a threat.

Dear [REDACTED],

I write on behalf of Electronic Arts Inc. and its development studio DICE or, in other words, ‘those guys that make Battlefield’.

We’ve noticed that Revive Network has several projects and websites devoted to being a Medic by reviving older Battlefield games, including Battlefield Heroes, Battlefield 2, and Battlefield 2142. It’s great to see your enthusiasm for these titles. Not to brag, but we too get the nostalgia chills when booting up these classic entries in the Battlefield franchise.

We need a favour though: we must ask that you stop throwing down Ammo Crates. In other, more legal-styled terms, please stop distributing copies of our game clients and using our trademarks, logos, and artwork on your sites. Thing is, your websites may easily mislead visitors to believe that you are associated or affiliated with EA and we’re the only ones that get to wear the Official EA dog tag. Since you’re Battlefield community members, we know that you are smart and helpful, and will respect that we must protect our intellectual property rights in the franchise.

Please drop us a line to let us know you’re on board with this. Should you have any questions regarding all this, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at [REDACTED]@ea.com.

Thanks,

[REDACTED]

IP Counsel

Electronic Arts Inc.

Well, there you go. Battlefield fans will just have to play the current crop of Battlefield games available now to get their fix. Maybe someday EA will ease up on letting their old games come back up online, but that’s not happening anytime soon it seems.

Source: Kotaku UK