Borderlands fans can once again play the first game in the series online on PC, thanks to 2K's efforts to transition some of its older games away from the now-defunct GameSpy service.

A new update for Borderlands has been released this week which replaces GameSpy with Steamworks. This means you'll now need Steam in order to play it online, and while some will be unhappy with that requirement, it's certainly a preferable solution to not being able to play online at all. That's been the case since May 31, when Glu Mobile shut down GameSpy's servers, rendering certain PC and console games unplayable online.

Anyone with a retail copy of Borderlands can go through a slightly convoluted process for requesting a Steam copy. This involves installing the Borderlands Granting Tool on Steam, which requires that you have the original disc the game came with. In order to get any DLC you've purchased (or gotten from the Game of the Year Edition), you'll need your original activation key. Instructions for how to do all of this can be found on 2K's support website.

Other 2K games are being transitioned off of GameSpy in addition to Borderlands, according to 2K. Civilization IV and its expansions have already been moved to Steamworks, while Civilization III and its expansions are expected to be migrated off of GameSpy. Other games, meanwhile, have been abandoned, such as Stronghold 2 and Top Spin.

2K's games weren't the only ones affected by the GameSpy shutdown; some of Rockstar's games were impacted, as were the PC versions of Halo: Combat Evolved and Star Wars: Battlefront II. Fortunately, in the case of games like the latter two, third-party service GameRanger stepped in to offer a way of continuing to play them online.

Has the GameSpy shutdown prevented you from being able to play any of the games you enjoy online? Let us know in the comments.