Maybe they should have just done a dollar a month subscription that goes along with the game or give that as an option now to keep the server alive.
Even if it’s a couple bucks sure the most faithful adherence of the game would not really mind paying it. The biggest problem for me here is that they’re totally removing the consumer’s agency, their choice.
I agree with what someone else said in this thread that if the support goes away then the server’s code should go open source. By law.