About the talk
This talk presents initial findings from research into games that have been sunset, or faced online-service withdrawal, over the past decade. Examining a sample of 567 games with sunset online features, it shows how often their accessibility and playability are limited and why preservation is a pressing issue. It also investigates the withdrawal process and the remedies, if any, created by developers and audiences.
Speaker
Dr. Ryan Stanton
Lecturer of Gaming and Society · UNSW
Dr Ryan Stanton is a Lecturer in Gaming and Society at the University of New South Wales School of Social Sciences. His research is interested in the culture and societal impact of games. He has previously worked as a Postdoctoral Assistant at City University of Hong Kong, where he began his project examining the implications of online service withdrawal in the videogame industry, while his dissertation analysed the communities and creators of two dozen gaming podcasts which won the Best Thesis Award at DiGRAA 2026. His work has been published in multiple edited collections and journals including Games and Culture, and he has presented his research at dozens of conferences including ICA, AoIR, and DiGRAA.