Capcom has announced that it's shutting down the Mega Man Powered Up servers this November. This decision means that all of the user-created content in the game's level editor will be deleted, as will official Capcom-created DLC through which you could unlock an iconic Mega Man character.
When are Mega Man Powered Up servers shutting down?
Per the official Japanese Capcom website (thanks, Delisted Games), Mega Man Powered Up servers will be shut down on November 30th. This means you'll no longer be able to create and upload levels to the game's servers, nor will you be able to download levels that other users have created. Mega Man Powered Up lasted longer than games like Killzone Shadow Fall or Skate 2, but it seems all older games must eventually cross over to the other side.
As pointed out by Delisted Games, a Mega Man Powered Up player has created an app that lets you download levels straight from your PC. Sadly, this app won't be functional after the shutdown either, but at least someone might download some of the Mega Man Powered Up stages before they disappear for good.
It's also worth remembering that Capcom itself created extra downloadable content for Mega Man Powered Up, and this content allowed you to play as series regular Roll, so you won't be able to do that anymore. Of course, the offline single-player components of Mega Man Powered Up will remain functional past the server shutdown.
Server shutdowns pose a problem for game preservation
Games having their servers shut down can be a real problem when it comes to game preservation efforts. Online games like Toontown can effectively disappear when their servers are shut down, but the problem affects single-player games as well, especially those with user-generated content elements or expansive DLC.
Servers for games are usually shut down when player numbers dwindle to the point that it's not economically viable for studios to keep them online anymore. This happened in the case of Metal Gear Solid V last year, as well as various Halo Xbox 360 servers earlier this year (although in the latter case, this was also related to the existence of the Master Chief Collection, which is still very much active).
In a world of constant online connectivity, though, shutting down servers can sometimes lead to games simply disappearing from existence, or user-generated content being lost in the ether. The best-case scenario for this, absent simply keeping the servers alive, is arguably something like Super Mario Maker's frozen-in-time situation, whereby it's still possible to play courses uploaded by users before the server shutdown but not to upload any new courses.
Right now, nobody has found a perfect solution to the issue of game preservation. Eager fans often try to keep games alive, but this can be a risky fix; some developers are happy for this to happen, but others are paradoxically protective of games they're in the process of shutting down anyway. We'll bring you more on this, and on game preservation in general, as soon as we get it.
