A sad day for gamers and GameFront aficionados.

The oldest and largest mod and patch hosting site, GameFront, has announced that it is permanently shutting down its site after 20 long years.

In a statement posted on its website, GameFront informed its users that they have until April 30 to download all files before the servers go offline.

"Any files not downloaded by that time will no longer be accessible," GameFront said.

Fellow hosting site, Mod DB, appeals to all users of GameFront to help them save GameFront-hosted files by backing up all available mods.

"We must unite as a community and preserve the mods that GameFront hosts which might otherwise be lost forever," Mod DB wrote.

The unexpected shutdown of GameFront came as a crushing blow to the gaming community. A lot of loyal users, who literally grew up with GameFront, depended on the hosting site for access to tens and thousands of PC game mods, patches, skins, tools, demos, maps and add-ons. GameFront is also the go-to site for classic game mods and patches that are now impossible to find.

GameFront staffer Ron Whitaker addressed fans and thanked them for making GameFront the destination for gaming files.

"Despite name changes, ownership changes, and staff changes, you have always made our jobs rewarding and fun," Whitaker said.

The site was originally named FileLeech way back in 1999. In 2001, it was renamed as FileFront and nearly shut down in 2009, while it was under Ziff Davis Media, which acquired it in 2005. It was again sold in 2010 and was acquired by Defy Media. Despite many attempts to keep the site afloat, GameFront kept losing money, so it was time to cut the cord.

Former members of FileFront and GameFront communities are currently launching a massive forum thread as a form of tribute to the well-loved site.