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  "path": "/article/3105695/ai-is-coming-for-your-online-gaming-servers-next.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-02T14:59:52.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.pcworld.com",
  "tags": [
    "AI, Gaming",
    "spotted by PC Gamer",
    "according to GamesBeat",
    "currently sitting at a “Mixed” rating on Steam",
    "filling up game stores with low-effort slop",
    "delayed due to the hardware issue",
    "console prices are going up years after launch",
    "cheap devices are being scuppered",
    "inject a generative “AI” filter",
    "skipping any new consumer GPUs",
    "broader social issues of “AI,”",
    "environmental impact"
  ],
  "textContent": "You can’t find RAM, you can’t find storage, you can’t find a GPU. But at least you can play the PC games you already own, right? Well, maybe not. Consumer PC parts aren’t the only things being gobbled up by the “AI” industry. A _Starcraft_ -inspired strategy game is shutting down its multiplayer servers because the hosting company got bought out for “AI.”\n\nThe game in question is _Stormgate_ , a crowdfunded revival of the real-time strategy genre that has languished in the last decade or so. The developer Frost Giant Studios told its players on Discord (spotted by PC Gamer) that it would be unable to continue multiplayer access past the end of this month. The “game server orchestration partner” was bought by an AI company—the developer’s words, not mine—which means that the multiplayer aspects of the game will have a “planned outage.”\n\nThe devs say the game will be patched for offline play, presumably including its single-player campaign mode and co-op modes, but “online modes will not be available at that point.” They’re hoping to bring back online play in a later update, but that’ll depend on “finding a partner to support ongoing operations.” That sounds like old-fashioned player-hosted games with lobbies aren’t in the cards, at least not yet.\n\nFrost Giant’s server provider is Hathora, which was bought by a company called Fireworks AI last month. Fireworks describes its offerings as “open-source AI models at blazing speed, optimized for your use case, scaled globally with the Fireworks Inference Cloud.” So, yeah, Hathora’s infrastructure will likely be used for yet more generative “AI.”\n\nAnd according to GamesBeat, it’s planning to shut down the game service aspect of its company completely. That means _Stormgate_ probably isn’t going to be the last game affected. Hathora also provides online services for _Splitgate 2_ , among others. I’m contacting Hathora for comment and will update this story if I receive a response.\n\n_Stormgate_ was met with excitement from strategy gamers who’ve been poorly served the last few years, aside from a few notable remakes and remasters. The development studio being formed by two Blizzard veterans certainly helped, as did the sci-fi setting, taking clear inspiration from _Warhammer 40,000_ just like _Starcraft_ did back in the 90s.\n\nBut the game landed with a bit of a thud late last year, and it’s currently sitting at a “Mixed” rating on Steam. More recent reviews are “mostly negative,” though none seem to be reacting to the shutdown news in particular. _Stormgate_ is free to play, but its full _Ashes of Creation_ single-player campaign costs $25.\n\nValve\n\nGamers aren’t thrilled about the way “AI” initiatives are carving out sections of the industry, making hardware unaffordable for players and filling up game stores with low-effort slop. The much-anticipated Steam Machine seems to be delayed due to the hardware issue, console prices are going up years after launch in an unprecedented reversal, and cheap devices are being scuppered just because the expense of the components makes them impossible to build.\n\nNvidia, easily the most visible beneficiary of the “AI” bubble due to industrial sales, is trying to inject a generative “AI” filter into its newest gaming software while reportedly skipping any new consumer GPUs for the first time in decades. Gamers are, unsurprisingly, less than receptive.\n\nAnd none of that is even touching the broader social issues of “AI,” the skyrocketing price of energy, the environmental impact. It sucks. That’s it. It just sucks.\n\nIf there’s a lesson to be learned in this situation, it might be that smaller game projects need contingency plans, at least if they include a multiplayer component. Remote-hosted servers have become the norm for online multiplayer because they allow for more complex and managed gameplay, not to mention things like live services. But for games like this, it might be worth looking into old-fashioned player-to-player connections as a fallback when things go awry.",
  "title": "‘AI’ is coming for your online gaming servers next"
}