Even though Gravity Rush 2 just came out back in the middle of January in 2017, Sony was already eyeing the shut down of the game's servers just one year removed from its launch. However, the game's dedicated and ardent fan base has stepped up to stay the execution of the game's servers thanks to their fervent support.
Polygon is reporting that Sony had originally planned to shut down the servers for Gravity Rush 2 starting later this week, January 18th, 2018. This would have been devastating for players because it would mean that the online component of the PS4 exclusive would be gone for good. However, some dedicated players from the fan communities for Sony Japan's Gravity Rush series stirred up the community and put forth effort into convincing Sony to stave off the shut down of the servers for the game.
The efforts from the community toward Sony metastasized in the form of a hashtag directed at Sony's worldwide studios president, Shuhei Yoshida. The community desperately pleaded with Yoshida using the hashtag #DontForgetGravityRush.
The plan was to, hopefully, delay the shut down of the servers for just a while longer. This did help somewhat, as Sony ended up moving the shut down date from January 18th all the way to July 18th, later this summer.
The issue, however, is that the servers will still eventually be shut down. So, why is this an issue for a game like Gravity Rush 2 when it's basically a single-player, story-driven game? Well, it's because some of the hidden costumes, achievements and unlockable content is attached to the game's online mode.
What this means is that some of the features will be lost for good once the game servers go offline, and you won't be able to get those items back so long as the servers for Gravity Rush 2 are no longer online.
Now, there is the possibility of the developers patching in a workaround so gamers who don't purchase a copy before July, 2018 could still unlock the costumes and achievements before the servers go down, but that seems unlikely right now.
Some people questioned why the game had such an ingrained online component for a single-player title? Well, it was apparently Sony's way of attempting to extend the lifespan of the game with network features to compel players to send their friends challenges and attempt to congregate with others online through an asynchronous design. However, things just didn't work out so well due to the poor sales of Gravity Rush 2, mostly for the fact that it's a rather niche game for a niche audience.
This, of course, also raises concerns for the future of gaming that has unlockable content and features tied to online components that can be shut down. Many fans obviously aren't happy about it, but Sony seems to want to cut its loses with Gravity Rush 2 as soon as possible, not unlike EA's old tactics with games like EA Sports MMA or older sports outings. However, with the server shutdown delayed to July, it might be best to get in some game time and unlock the content and costumes while you still can.
