Social Wars was a popular Facebook game back in the early 2010s, allowing users to build armies, conquer territories, and battle friends. However, the game shut down permanently in 2013. So is there still a way to play Social Wars in 2023?
What was Social Wars?
Social Wars was a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game released on Facebook in 2010. It was developed by Playfish and at its peak had over 10 million monthly active users.
The premise of Social Wars was simple. Players could build armies, conquer territories on a map of the world, gather resources, and battle with friends. There was a virtual currency called Playfish Cash that could be used to speed up progress.
Some key features of Social Wars included:
- Building up home cities, training troops, conducting research
- Conquering neutral and enemy territories
- Forming alliances with other players
- Real-time multiplayer battles
- Levelling up general skills and earning medals
Social Wars tapped into the popularity of strategy war games as well as the social nature of Facebook gaming. At its peak, it was one of the top Facebook games with millions of daily users.
Why did Social Wars shut down?
In April 2013, Social Wars and all games by Playfish were permanently shut down. This was a strategic business decision by Electronic Arts, who had acquired Playfish in 2009.
Some key reasons Social Wars was discontinued include:
- Shift away from desktop gaming to mobile games
- High cost of maintaining live services with declining revenues
- Saturated Facebook gaming market
- Removal of viral channels on Facebook
The rise of mobile gaming on smartphones and tablets was gaining momentum, and Facebook gaming on desktop was declining. EA decided to shift focus and resources to developing for mobile platforms rather than sustaining desktop games like Social Wars.
In addition, the costs involved in running live services, servers, customer support etc for Social Wars was high considering the revenues generated had been falling. So shutting down was seen as a prudent business decision by EA.
Is there still a way to play Social Wars?
Unfortunately, there is no longer any official way to play the original Social Wars game. When it was terminated in 2013, all game servers were shut down. User accounts and progress were deleted.
EA owns the intellectual property rights to Social Wars, so the game cannot legally be hosted by third-parties. Any copies or recreations of the game would violate EA’s copyright.
There are a few alternatives for players looking to relive something similar to Social Wars:
- Playing browser-based strategy war games
- Trying mobile real-time strategy games
- Searching for Social Wars fan recreations or tributes
However, none of these will exactly replicate the original Social Wars experience. The game is permanently gone unless EA ever decides to revive it.
Most similar games to Social Wars
While no game can replace Social Wars exactly, here are some alternatives that capture a similar experience:
| Game | Platform | Key similarities |
|---|---|---|
| Clash of Clans | Mobile | Base building, troop training, multiplayer battles |
| Total War | PC | Large scale war strategy simulation |
| Rise of Kingdoms | Mobile | Real-time multiplayer, alliance diplomacy |
| Ikariam | Browser | Resource gathering, research, conquest |
| Game of War | Mobile | Base building, territorial conquest |
These strategy war games incorporate key elements that made Social Wars popular – like recruiting armies, battling others, and expanding territory. While they each have their own unique flavor, fans of Social Wars may enjoy them.
The legacy of Social Wars
While no longer playable, Social Wars had a significant impact in its heyday. It paved the way for strategy/war gaming on Facebook and introduced casual gamers to deeper strategy mechanics.
Some of the innovations and legacy of Social Wars include:
- Mainstreaming war games – Social Wars took the war game genre mainstream to new demographics
- Social connectivity – Built strong social elements into the game, driving virality
- Accessibility – Simplified gameplay made it easy for casual gamers to get into
- Competitive gameplay – PvP battles with friends added to competitiveness
- Progression system – Levelling up general skills extended progression
Game developers learned from Social Wars sucess and incorporated similar mechanics into later games. It paved the way for strategy war games to thrive on mobile years later.
The business model impact
Social Wars also provided lessons for future free-to-play business models. It balanced an accessible core game with monetization through virtual goods.
Some of its business model impacts include:
- Usage of virtual hard currencies for monetization
- Non-paying users subsidized through virtual goods sales
- Time gates and boosts to drive in-app purchases
The foundations of the free-to-play business model were cemented by Social Wars and contemporaries like FarmVille. This accelerated the rise of free games on mobile in the present day.
Conclusion
Social Wars carved out a unique place in Facebook gaming history. While shutdown in 2013, its legacy lives on through strategy war games that have thrived on mobile platforms. Game developers can still draw inspiration from the mechanics, competition, and social gameplay that made Social Wars so popular.
For players, the Social Wars era is likely a nostalgic memory of battlefield conquest alongside friends. Though the servers are gone, reminiscing about those glory days of strategy gaming on Facebook will remain.