this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
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But then how could anyone use it? If it’s to download and run at home, you can get away with it. But in many of these cases they’re saying open source it so volunteer group XYZ can host a server and keep the game alive. Wouldn’t group XYZ be vulnerable to copyright action?
The artwork and music is usually on the client side (and if it's not, the programmers need to get good lmao) so it's really not a problem
open source refers to a computer program in which the source code is available to the general public for usage, modification from its original design, and publication of their version (fork) back to the community
(copied 1:1 from wikipedia, i was too lazy to write it myself)
So no, open source don't mean that a specific group keeps the server game alive by hosting a server but that the server code is aviable to the public to do whatever they want;
Another solution is making the code Source-available (like some companies already do: eg Mojang) or just distributing a copy of the server for people to use, without being open sourc
I know what open source means.
A group that wants to host that game server is eventually going to need to fix it, or adapt it to new software / hardware if we expect it to be able to run in perpetuity. They will need to be able to modify that source code to do so.
So the game publisher can’t just publish one final compiled package “for people to use.” The software has to be able to be maintained, not just used. And if we expect the software to survive over time, it will need a community not just one group. Open source is the only thing that would allow the game publisher to walk away from it, but allow the software to live on.
I'd prefer an open source solution too, but tbh, there are other (more lazy) ways for the publisher, like sharing the APIs specifications so the people can make their own server, i hope that the EU will take the open source approach tho