Online Pass availability on Dirt and GRID games, server shutting down March 2026
Hello fellow EA community. I write this post due to several issues regarding these Codemasters "legacy" games. Recently it was known that various Dirt and GRID games are going to be shut down on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, including: Dirt 3, Grid 2, Grid Autosport and Dirt Showdown on March 2026. But this comes with two problems: 1st problem: The Online Passes or also known as "VIP Passes", are no longer available on those storefronts. Well, ofc, the Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 is already gone, so unfortunately is no longer there. But on PlayStation Store, they're not. And they haven't been for a long time since Codemasters (when still independent prior to EA acquisition) delisted them. 2nd problem: The codes on physical copies, including brand new, sealed copies of the game were made expired, meaning that they're useless nowadays, even if it had a expiration date of 2027 to put an example. Similar to the massive shut down of the old F1 Codemasters games back in 2023-2024, Codemasters support stated persistently that the online passes couldn't be sold again because of "licensing issues". The thing, is the online pass are just a single use token that grants users access to online features. They don't grant access to Ferraris or Citroën cars, which is mistakenly thought so by Codemasters support guys. The "licensed content with issues" would be those DLC vehicles or circuits, but not a online pass. I mean come on. This is a post made with the intention of asking Codemasters or EA if they can reinstate, at least for one last time those online passes onto the PlayStation Store, or make these codes on brand new copies redeemable and possible to use. I expect the same "licensing issues" answer, or that "PlayStation 3 Store infrastructure is old and this content cannot be added again". Hoping a sooner answer or clearance about this information.
