Why is Unreal Tournament 99 still online and newer ones aren’t?

Game Reviews & Recommendations
1

I was playing Unreal Tournament 3 but couldn’t find any online servers since Epic shut them down. Then I remembered Unreal Tournament 99 and gave it a try. Surprisingly, there are still active servers for it, and I was able to play online!

I’m curious why newer games like UT2004 and UT3 don’t have support anymore, but the 1999 version does? Also, it’s pretty awesome how UT99 runs perfectly on my modern PC, even though it was made for Windows 98. I’m using the Game of the Year Edition from Steam, which probably helps it work on newer systems. Anyone else still playing this classic?

2

I think UT99 survives because the community keeps it alive. Epic letting us download it from archives helps too. Check out oldunreal.com—they might be the ones maintaining updates.

3

Adair said:
I think UT99 survives because the community keeps it alive. Epic letting us download it from archives helps too. Check out oldunreal.com—they might be the ones maintaining updates.

Are you sure that’s the correct link? It might need double-checking.

4

Adair said:
I think UT99 survives because the community keeps it alive. Epic letting us download it from archives helps too. Check out oldunreal.com—they might be the ones maintaining updates.

UT99 was such a big part of my childhood. By the way, does anyone know if playing online has security risks, like those remote code execution issues in old CoD games?

5

It’s great you’re discovering how player-hosted servers keep games alive. They let communities keep playing even after developers abandon support. This is why so many gamers want tools to host their own servers.

6

@Sky
Losing dedicated servers was the worst. I was in an FPS clan for years, and we ran custom servers with mods that made the game unique for us. When developers killed that with games like COD5, it destroyed our group. Matchmaking just doesn’t give the same community feel.

7

@Hollis
Same thing happened with the Battlefield series. Dedicated servers used to be packed, but now it’s just not the same. Portal was supposed to fix it, but it missed the mark.

8

Torin said:
@Hollis
Same thing happened with the Battlefield series. Dedicated servers used to be packed, but now it’s just not the same. Portal was supposed to fix it, but it missed the mark.

I remember finding Battlefield 1942 servers still running even years later. It’s crazy how long some communities stick around.

9

@Hollis
The custom servers were the best. Now, it’s rare to find any. Gaming companies took away so much when they stopped supporting them.

10

@Hollis
I don’t play COD, but I agree—what they did to dedicated servers was unforgivable.

11

Rafe said:
@Hollis
I don’t play COD, but I agree—what they did to dedicated servers was unforgivable.

There was a group that made a mod to bring dedicated servers back for MW2, but they got shut down with a lawsuit.

12

@Hollis
I was part of a sniper-only COD clan, and the removal of servers killed it. The community just disappeared overnight.

13

Ren said:
@Hollis
I was part of a sniper-only COD clan, and the removal of servers killed it. The community just disappeared overnight.

Same here! My clan also focused on sniping. It’s sad thinking today’s players won’t experience the fun we had with our own servers.

14

@Hollis
What did Robert Bowling do that people dislike him so much? I’ve been gaming since the early days, but I don’t remember.

15

@Sky
Another great thing about hosted servers is being able to handle cheaters quickly.

16

Neely said:
@Sky
Another great thing about hosted servers is being able to handle cheaters quickly.

Exactly. Trolls were dealt with fast, which made games so much better.

17

Ren said:

Neely said:
@Sky
Another great thing about hosted servers is being able to handle cheaters quickly.

Exactly. Trolls were dealt with fast, which made games so much better.

Sometimes moderators could be strict, but it was still better than now. Once, my friend got banned unfairly, but we appealed on their forum and got unbanned after sharing a funny photoshop of a mod. Good times.

18

UT99 is a classic. UT2004 was amazing too, but nostalgia keeps people coming back to the original.

19

Blair said:
UT99 is a classic. UT2004 was amazing too, but nostalgia keeps people coming back to the original.

Maybe. I don’t think there was a massive difference between UT99 and UT3, though. UT3 had better graphics but still felt like the classic.

20

@Zade
UT3 had improved graphics but poor art direction. Everything looked brown and dull, which was trendy back then. Plus, it lacked the modding community that earlier games had.