I am worried they shut the game down permanently

Seems like custom game server are back now.

Are there many online games in this game? I want to buy it, but I know myself, if I can't play online, I'll quickly give up on it.

Still nobody to answer?

ill leave this here, because nobody continued with the discussion, i dont know if you have chated with devs or something, but i writted to support, and they replied this:

"Hello,

Thank you for contacting Iron Harvest Player Support!

It seems that the only way to solve this is to use a VPN.
Try setting up Poland in the VPN settings and only then will the problem disappear.

Don't hesitate to contact us should you need further assistance.

Best regards,

Raffaele S
Player Support"

Honestly i havent tried, im kinda burnt about this ... but, ive told this too and they replied :

"Hello,

I'm sorry for this misunderstanding.
In your first email, you didn't mention achievements.
The game servers are up and running.
Installing a VPN is not the solution; it's simply a workaround that allows you to play without issues until the developers find a permanent solution, if they find one."

This same problem is in other discussion so, maybe try no to open a bunch discusions about it. In my case, without wanting to try any vpn, i did it anyway, and i am playing a couple of skirmish rght now without going offline ... im using proton vpn , and im using the netherlands vpn, so ... maybe give it a try and write back to check if worked for you , i know that its not a good solution, but it doesnt seems to me that the devs are gonna give an ultimate solution to this :/

also, im from argentina, south america, they recommended using the polonia vpn, i used the netherlands because proton its free and really limited, europe vpn countries maybe are working better? i dont know, try and write back, could be nice for the gamers that still play the game, and also for newcomer

Originally posted by Lord Greystoke:

Still nobody to answer?

There aren't MANY games, but you are able to play online MP. There's been a bit of boost in the online population due to the DoW 4 announcement.