Quick recap: GameSpy, the online matchmaking client that supported a huge number of multiplayer games, is shutting down on May 31. If developers don't find a different solution by then, their games will lose online functionality. While EA previously gave us signs that it was working on finding such solutions for the old Battlefield games , earlier this week we found out that Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, and Battlefield 1942 would go offline on at the end of June. But don't lose hope! The player community is making its own solutions.

At least for Battlefield 2 and 1942. Members of the bf1942.sk forums are working on a replacement master list server which is currently running in a test mode. It will take some doing on your part, but if you want to keep playing the game online you can find instructions on how to do it on their site .

For Battlefield 2, the good people at Blue Entertainment are working on making their own ranking system, login server, and hosting solution. Their revivebf2.com site is currently under construction, but one member of the team who goes by the online alias RIICKY told me they're hoping to have a solution up and ready by the time the GameSpy servers go down.

“From experiences with modding BF2 and other EA games, it looks like EA doesn't really care as long as you're not releasing content for free (for example having BF2 items modded into 2142),” he said. “But we'd like to think that they gave us indirect approval when they said they won't be saving [the games].”

The news about GameSpy shutting down obviously sucks, but on the other hand it's been really great to see the PC gaming community rally and find ways to keep games online where publishers didn't.

GamerRanger will similarly save Star Wars: Battlefront II , and Halo: Combat Evolved .