Microsoft has decided that it’s time to sunset its internet board and card games. This can be taken as yet another nudge by the company for users of older Windows versions to upgrade or get left behind. It’s shutting down several of its Internet Games for users on Windows 7 or earlier.
The internet games that are being given the ax include Hearts, Checkers, Backgammon, Reversi, Spades, and MSN Go. Access will be cut for users on Windows 7 or earlier. Precisely when they’ll lose access depends on the Windows version they’re using.
The first ones to lose access to these games will understandably be the users that are still running Windows XP and Windows ME. All of the games with the exception of MSN Go will no longer be available for them from July 31st, 2019. Windows 7 users will continue to have access to Backgammon, Checkers, Spades and MSN Go until January 22, 2020, which is about a week after Microsoft ends support for Windows 7.
“It is with heavy hearts that we have made the difficult decision,” says the Windows gaming team, adding that “However, the time has come for us, along with our hardware and software partners, to invest our resources towards more recent technologies.”