When we first got the news about GameSpy shutting down , the situation looked pretty bad. Once the online matchmaking client shuts down on May 31, the games that still rely on it will have to either transition to a new solution or go offline. Luckily, many developers are working on alternative solutions, and today we learned even Halo: Combat Evolved will still be playable online thanks to GameRanger.

GameRanger, a service that frequently provides a home for games without server support, is free to download, and as of yesterday supports Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo: Combat Evolved Demo, and Halo: Custom Edition. The Australian company previously saved GRID's online multiplayer , and Need For Speed: Most Wanted as well.

As we've previously reported , Electronic Arts, 2K , Activision, Epic Games, and Bohemia Interactive all announced that some or all of their games will survive the GameSpy shutdown.

So far, the biggest casualties seem to be the online multiplayer modes for Crysis and Crysis 2 . If you're really upset by that, there's even an online petition you can sign .