Although I'm not much of a racing fan, GRID is on of those games I've at least heard of, as its following is as hardcore as they come. However, it seems that Codemasters does not appreciate this following, as the company has recently confirmed the permanent shut down of GRID's online service for the PS3 and PC after users were reporting issues with the service.

To confirm the shut down, Codemasters' community manager 'Helios' wrote on the Codemasters forum "After three years of service, 2008’s Race Driver: GRID's online play service has been discontinued for the PS3 and PC editions of the game. This follows the decision by a third party provider to decline the offer of an extended contract to continue online play on these platforms. Race Driver: GRID for Xbox 360 is not affected. We thank fans for their support and apologise to those affected by the end of this service." This decision was entirely unannounced, a fatal PR error on Codemasters part and a total slap in the face to fans of the series. Find out how you can still play online after the jump.

If you're a PC player, there is still a way to play online via emulation software called Tunngle . But for PS3 owners who regular play GRID, there is as of yet no way to recreate the online experience. I doubt Codemasters will change their mind on this one, but it's a little low of them to cancel the online service of this game after only three years on the market.

Forum users are outraged and a small contingent of hardcore players are very disappointed by this development, one user was even inspired to create the forum username “cmsucksballs” (which has since been changed to “NameDeleted” by moderators). Some PC players have transitioned to using software called Tunngle to emulate the servers.