This the lobbyist's FUD, and SKG are so up-front with the reasonable constraints that it makes it pretty obvious that this is a paid piece.

Edit: oh, it's yours. Spend 5 minutes understanding exactly what SKG have said they are not asking for.

> Now it becomes way more expensive for small studios to come out with games that have online features.

Good riddance. Online features suck. Make your game multiplayer or make it singleplayer. Don't add pointless online features.

PS all you need to make sure it works is release the server once you stop supporting it yourself.

> They rely on a huge network of interconnected cloud micro services.

Give people the docker file.

> A single match might require separate proprietary systems for matchmaking, player inventories, anti cheat, metrics tracking, and database management. Many of those come with licenses that don't allow you to just give away the code for free.

That's more AAA stuff not indie.