What Happens To Code From Failed Projects?

Idzuna writes "With the somewhat recent announcement of Tabula Rasa shutting down, I have been thinking about what will happen to the Server/Client code. Does it get used as a guide for other projects? Does it get destroyed? Or does it just sit there on a hard drive somewhere in storage? The same question applies to many other failed creations. I know the likelihood of the code being distributed freely is next to nil, as most companies probably recycle code. If a vulnerability was found in old code, it could be applied to other products that the company has released. But wouldn't it help development of different projects if such a resource was available?"

It's recycled

[cbrocious]

The code is used for other projects by the same company. Few companies release their old/failed code -- id being the only game company I know of that does so (GPLing their old code).

Re:

[Neoaikon]

Where I work if a project gets shelved we separate any useful functions from the code and copy those for future use. and then the code gets archived and a document of its code printed out on paper for reference and as a hard backup. Basically its recycled, although we've had clients come up after 5 years wanting to restart the project, and are surprised that we still have it.

Re:Code Heaven

[squarefish]

Actually, I think it gets it's own little piece of silicon heaven [wikipedia.org]

And why wouldn't it?

Sloppy Code Bad for Company Reputation

[Paeva]

I imagine that if you saw into the heart of your typical code developed entirely for internal use (i.e. not for distribution without being compiled first), you would find only rot, stink, and generally a very scary place. You don't want your clients seeing that stuff.

Corporate Asset

[GrayNimic]

When EA shut down Earth & Beyond, there were the typical calls for the server software to be released. Amazingly enough, they actually did get a response: that the code for the backend of an MMO represents a huge investment by a company, and that they (EA) would not release the code for two basic reasons. One, access to the code (source, libraries, decompilable libraries, whatever) for a fully functional MMO would be a huge leg-up for competitors attempting to enter the field. Two, the code represents a base that can be used for other projects, and releasing a version of that base could be a liability to those future projects. For those two reasons, the chances of EA in any way supporting community-run servers would be nil.

Not stellar news (nor surprising), but the one pseudo-official response I have ever actually seen. And it does make sense, to me at least.

Re:It's recycled

[Anonymous Coward]

freespace 2 and duke nukem 3d are also open sourced, and i doubt that's all.

Re:It's recycled

[Chaos Incarnate]

Not just that they're flexible enough, but that they often monetize them by selling the engines to other companies. Those other companies won't have the rights to release the engine code, while the companies who created the engines don't want to stop the flow of money.