Several classic racing games from Codemasters will shut down their online services on March 16, 2026. Electronic Arts (EA), which acquired the British studio in 2021, announced the list of games losing their online components earlier this month.
The following games will be affected by the decision:
Dirt 3 on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch
Dirt Showdown on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch
Grid 2 on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch
Grid Autosport on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch
For a majority of players, this will only be a mere technicality, because playing most of these titles online requires online passes that have already been delisted from sale years ago.
Dirt and Grid are among Codemasters' most popular franchises from the 2010s, when the studio had already been specializing in racing games. Dirt 2 was released in 2011, Showdown in 2012. Grid 2 and Autosport followed in 2013 and 2014.
The series' most recent entries are Dirt 5 from 2020 and Grid Legends from 2022. The cadence of releases from the two franchises has slowed down substantially in the 2020s, as the F1 series has taken priority over everything else following Codemasters' acquisition by EA. As such, some fans looking for a different experience have found themselves gravitating back towards the older catalog.