2K relents to fans, turns servers back on for abandoned “4v1” online game

Enlarge / Evolve's unique 4v1 battling is now back online—and while access is limited, we still count this as a victory for game history preservation. (credit: 2K Games / Turtle Rock)

From a preservation standpoint, the modern shift to "always-online" video games has been a disaster. We've seen it repeatedly: A developer stops "supporting" an online game, and then the rug is pulled out from fans who might try to hack their way into playing the game among friends, leaving all access in tatters.

In the case of the four-on-one online shooter Evolve, however, the reverse has been true—and in a surprise twist, this 2K-published, Turtle Rock-developed game has been given more life this week than in the four years since its support was shut down.

Stage 2... part 2

Before I explain, I should clarify the worst news. This previously free-to-play game is now all but impossible to access if you didn't previously own or claim it, and there's no clear path to playing it due to the game's delisting from online retailers in September 2018. Apparently, working download "keys" for the game's free-to-play (F2P) version, which went live in 2016, may still be floating around.