Free-to-play game Loadout ending service in wake of GDPR regulation

The developer behind Loadout, a free-to-play title for PC and PlayStation 4, has announced that it will be shutting the game down for good later this month following issues with rising costs and new regulations in the EU.

In a public post to the game’s community, the Edge of Reality team said that the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation guidelines for the European Union delivered one of the final blows the game, noting that the dev simply lacks the resources to update Loadout in a way that would make it GDPR compliant.

GDPR regulation deals with how personal data is handled, particularly when that data is being exported outside of the EU. Though the regulations were adopted in 2016, GDPR is due to become enforceable after its two-year transition period ends on May 25, 2018.

Loadout is just the latest game to shut down following the updated data protection regulations. Uber Entertainment announced that it would be shutting down its free-to-play game Super Monday Night Combat as a result of the GDPR guidelines, while Ragnarok Online publisher WarpPortal has also decided to shut down Ragnarok Online servers in the EU. 

“The well-intended GDPR legislation creates major burdens for small companies to do business in the EU, starting on 5/25,” explains the post. “We don't have the resources to update Loadout to GDPR compliance, and a big portion of Loadout players come from the EU. Sadly, while big companies have the resources to comply with the GDPR, that's not always the case for small businesses.”

Loadout’s developer notes that GDPR isn’t solely responsible for the team’s decision to shut down the game. The team notes that costs to keep the game up and running have been increasing, while Loadout’s revenue has been staying flat. Additionally, the dev notes that the cloud-based service that the game was built on has also announced that it is ending service, possibly as a result of GDPR as well, and porting Loadout to a different service would be far too costly.