History Main / TemporaryOnlineContent

** A few of the medals in ''D.I.Y.'' require entering microgame design contests that were periodically held by Nintendo. Nintendo no longer holds these contests, so if you hadn't already gotten the medals for them you can now no longer obtain them. Thankfully, it's still possible to get all the records even without these medals. The same, of course, goes for the microgames that won those contests. Even while they were running, you could only access the two most recent contest sets at a time to download their microgames. Now, you can't get any of them, unless you can get them from other players.

* The Wii Shop Channel discontinued the ability to add Wii Points for purchasing games as of Mar 26, 2018, and the channel itself shut down on Jan 30, 2019. You can still download games until Nintendo shuts that down, but you can no longer purchase games. Similarly, ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' was delisted from the Wii Shop Channel when Konami's license for the IP ran out, so anyone who didn't get to buy the game before that were out of luck.

* A sizable portion of ''VideoGame/SyphonFilterTheOmegaStrain'''s unlockable content could only be unlocked via online co-op multiplayer, often involving team-dependent mission objectives, and thus became permanently inaccessible once the servers closed down in 2008.

** Several events were collaborations with other franchises: ''Operation Originium Dust'' (''VideoGame/RainbowSixSiege''), "It's Been A While" (''WebAnimation/TheLegendOfLuoXiaoHei'') and "Leaves Chasing Fire" (''VideoGame/MonsterHunter''). As the gacha banners were limited and the events are unlikely to rerun, all collab operators featured are no longer obtainable for players that missed the event.

** ''Operation Originium Dust'' was a collaboration event with ''VideoGame/RainbowSixSiege''. As the gacha banner was limited and the event is unlikely to rerun, all four Rainbow operators featured are no longer obtainable for players that missed the event.

*** ''Dragonflight'' had the (at time of writing, currently running) Primal Storms, where so-called "Primalists" summoned Elemental Lords periodically in an effort to let said Elemental Lords ravage Azeroth. Once again, there was a special currency that could be used to purchase armor sets, weapons, a toy and a pet. There was also a special Heirloom that needed to be crafted from rare drops from the four types of Elemental Lords (Fire, Earth, Storm, and Ice).

** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'' had an event where the player could [[TimeTravel travel back in time]] with Celebi to the moment where Team Rocket calls for Giovanni from Goldenrod City's Radio Tower (meaning that the player was in two places at the same time, since they were fighting Time Rocket in the tower). The player could then battle Giovanni, and if they won, Giovanni would finally end his wish to restore Team Rocket to its former glory. Unfortunately, because this was a limited-time online event, new players can't battle Giovanni or get Celebi.

*** Mega Stones for Pokémon that were not native to Alola were only available online. Either they were given as prizes for participating in Wi-fi competitions or as codes. Each code gave you up to 4 Mega Stones and they stop working at the end of October 2017, just a few days before ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'''s release.

* In ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'', Edwina's Cash Dash and Yuka's Date Dash Events are two recurring events that run for three days each. They involve raising as much money and collecting as many roses from completed orders, respectively, within the time limit, and then reaping the rewards based on how much you've gained.

* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'' has had a few assorted features removed over the years, causing them and any related unlockables (such as Neoboards avatars) to become this. These range from minor things such as the Tooth Faerie avatar and the corresponding Random Event which granted it (inadvertently lost in the shuffle when Random Events were revamped in 2014), to major things such as the entirety of Neopets Mobile (pre-smartphone era mobile app), Key Quest (a VideoGame/MarioParty-esque virtual board game) and Petpet Park (a now-defunct spinoff site). The removal of Key Quest in particular was met with a large outcry from fans, both due to it having been a fun and practical way of earning Neopoints and items, and due to it having had alternate pieces players could use via purchasing them with real money; the latter are still viewable in a player's collection, but are unusable due to the game no longer existing.

** The Splatfest Tee is a special shirt with Special Saver (the first game) or Ability Doubler (the second game) and three slots for sub-abilities to fit into. The problem is that they are only around for a given Splatfest and must be returned when the event is over, at which point everything on those tees is lost. When ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' came about and offered the ability to wash ability chunks off of clothes, it was no uncommon thing for players to do that before turning the tees in, something which became palatable when Murch offered a massive 90% discount for the service. Even then, and with the addition of constant refilling the shirt's EXP gauge to get new ability chunks afterwards, laundromat services still were commonplace, and some players just wish you could keep the tee afterwards. After the final Splatfest of ''Splatoon 2'', an update introduced the Splatfest Tee Replica, a replacement shirt obtainable through a news post; it doesn't completely replicate the Splatfest Tee, but it comes with the Ability Doubler and changes color to reflect the player's ink color.

* ''Videogame/MarvelPuzzleQuest'' has had costumes for the characters that were limited period deals. Sometimes the developers get generous and make one available again in the [[RevenueEnhancingDevices purchasable offers]].

* ''VideoGame/GhostRecon: Future Soldier'' was accompanied by a free Facebook game which could be played to unlock things in ''Future Soldier'', including a new weapon. Eventually, however, the Facebook game was shut down, making it impossible to unlock the weapon. An update around that time got around this by automatically giving everyone the aforementioned weapon for multiplayer use... but getting it through that game unlocked it for singleplayer and co-op use as well, in which it is now totally unobtainable.

* In the North American release of the first ''VideoGame/{{Animal Crossing|2001}}'', the player could obtain the NES games ''Soccer'', ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', ''Donkey Kong 3'', ''Clu Clu Land D'', and ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' through secret codes generated for the player's specific character and town on Nintendo of America's official website for the game. Since the site is now defunct, the items can only be obtained through third-party code generators or hacking.

* ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'', just by virtue of being an online-only experience, will inevitably fall victim to this, but one facet that occured during its playable lifetime: Chapter 13 of its downloadable content, based on ''Series/StrangerThings'', was removed from sale just a little over two years after its initial release, as Creator/{{Netflix}} declined to renew their contract with Behaviour. Anyone who bought or unlocked its inclusions gets to keep them, but its Underground Complex map was removed from playable rotation for all players.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' games have a couple of these.

** Also in ''Splatoon 2'', Marina develops a custom arena known as Shifty Station, which changes every time a new Splatfest rolls around. Some players lament that you cannot revisit these stages when the Splatfest ends, as some of them have gimmicks that make the stage far more entertaining than the usual fare. As of version 5.0.0, all 24 Shifty Stations have been permanently added to the game, but they're only available in private Splatfest battles rather than the main rotation.

* Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath were characters from ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' that were available at launch, but only when downloaded from a digital marketplace, until all ''Marvel Vs. Capcom 3'' content was removed from digital markets at the end of December 2013. This also applies to the updated re-release, ''Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3'', which still required the two characters to be downloaded. Averted in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 release, however, where all the DLC is available, including Jill and Shuma.

* ''Rockman Megaworld'', a Mega Drive compilation of the first three Famicom games with 16-bit graphics and sound (and a small yet brand new secret fourth game), was in fact released in Europe as ''VideoGame/MegaManTheWilyWars''. The American version was only available via the now-defunct Sega Channel, meaning that the game was lost once the service was discontinued.
* The [[DownloadableContent Hurricane Packs]] for the original ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' Xbox game, following the discontinuation of the original Xbox Live service. While ''Ninja Gaiden Black'' carries over most of the content from the Hurricane Packs (extra game modes and costumes), the famed Intercept move was removed, due to the developers deeming it [[GameBreaker too powerful]].

* Predating EA's always-online games are Nintendo's UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' titles. Specifically, a remake of the original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' for the SNES with different dungeon layouts, and a sequel of sorts to ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]''. These titles were transmitted via satellite and programmed to only be executable within a certain date and time, checking them against the Satellaview cartridge's RTC. Although the Satellaview does not delete these "expired" games automatically, they are no longer playable. Especially since the game needs to be played while an accompanying audio drama is playing out on the TV at the same time. Thankfully, someone had made a recording of the audio drama, and coupled with the extraction of the game from the Satellaview cart and patched, the game is now fully emulated.

* Predating EA's always-online games are Nintendo's Satellaview Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda titles. Specifically, the port of the original The Legend of Zelda to the SNES, and a sequel of sorts to ''A Link to The Past''. These titles were transmitted via satellite and programmed to only be executable within a certain date and time, checking them against the Satellaview cartridge's RTC. Although the Satellaview will not delete these "expired" games automatically, they will no longer be playable. Especially since the game needs to be played while an accompanying audio drama is playing out on the TV at the same time. Thankfully, someone had made a recording of the audio drama, and coupled with the extraction of the game from the Satellaview cart and patched, the game is now fully emulated.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSpore''. The game, predating ''VideoGame/SimCity2013'' by two years, was among EA's first titles to require an always-online connection to EA's servers to be playable, and all progresses are stored on EA's servers. EA pulled the plug on the server in 2016. The game's copy protection and has yet to be cracked due to lack of interest, and there are no private servers in existence because the server protocols has yet to be reverse-engineered for the same reason, and thus there is absolutely no way anyone can play the game at this time.

* The original Dreamcast versions of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and to a lesser extent ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' had a number of online features that were missing from all later ports. There were online contests and global rankings with physical rewards, downloadable events and challenges, and the ability to share Chao online. Additionally, players could download rare and otherwise unobtainable Chao from the Black Market. Nearly all of these features were lost even for the Dreamcast versions, as they used the games' official websites, which closed down years ago. Players can still find most of the Dreamcast-exclusive DLC floating on the web, and they can still be played despite their online contests no longer being active, but the first kart event, and the Black Market Chao downloads, seem to be lost.

* The VITA release of ''VideoGame/AtelierMeruruTheApprenticeOfArland'' had, for the first month of release, a DLC with swimsuit outfits.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'': With the Gen V iteration of the Dream World being shut down in January 2014, a few of the medals associated with obtaining Dream World Pokemon have become permanently unobtainable. In order to get all of these medals, you needed to have brought over ''100'' Pokemon.

*** To celebrate the 20th anniversary of [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the anime]], Pikachu with Ash's cap was made available for download from September 19-October 30, 2017. There are six versions of this Pikachu, each with a different cap and moveset, but the code available for them only works for each save file once. When you download the Pikachu determines which hat it'll have, plus which moveset it gets that corresponds with that anime era.

** As time has passed, some songs have become unavailable for purchase due to relicensing issues and/or being locked behind special offers or exports. As of October 2018, over 250 songs are unavailable to purchase, including most of the tracks on Rock Band 1, 2, and Lego. Anyone who purchased these songs before they were removed can download and play them freely, however, and select tracks have been rereleased as DLC for Rock Band 4.

* ''[[VideoGame/DarkSpore Dark Spore]]''. The game, predating ''VideoGame/SimCity2013'' by two years, was among EA's first titles to require an always-online connection to EA's servers to be playable, and all progresses are stored on EA's servers. EA pulled the plug on the server in 2016. The game's copy protection and has yet to be cracked due to lack of interest, and there are no private servers in existence because the server protocols has yet to be reverse-engineered for the same reason, and thus there is absolutely no way anyone can play the game at this time.

* In November 2020, ''VideoGame/Destiny2'' deleted ''their entire main campaign'' and the first two DLC campaigns to make way for their "Beyond Light" DLC campaign, reasoning the game was becoming too bloated (it was starting to become bigger than some console hard drives) and that most people who hadn't played the campaigns by then weren't going to anyway. While the deleted campaigns were made free when ''Destiny 2'' was released as free-to-play on Steam, some people who paid for ''Destiny 2'' when it was a Battlenet exclusive were pissed that single-player content they had paid real money for was being erased. Made even worse by the fact that with the deletion, ''Destiny 2'' now has no campaign content other than open-world free roam if you don't pay for any of the DLC expansions, which some people are now weary of doing knowing that access is likely to be deleted in the future.