if the server was integral to the running of the service then yes, it makes sense to discontinue it when there's no more profit to be made.
However, increasingly more and more services which could've been an on-premises deployment become SAAS. This includes games (live services they call it). It is _designed_ to end, and designed to not be able to run locally.
I don't think it's designed to end, they're just trying to:
- Prevent piracy
- Extract more money per user (subscriptions, repeated purchases in-game)
Look, you can live perfectly fine without all of those services, there are indie games and there are old games and, according to some, they're much better than any online crapware from today.
Make it a point not to buy Free to play online crap, forbid your kids from playing that crap. Absolutely don't give them any money for this crap.
If enough people stop buying the we'll see a shift to the DRM & no hassle approach of indie games.
I'd also prefer giving my money to a small team of devs than some corporate ladder who happend to purchase the latest AAA game built by a studio of overworked and underpaid devs.
