A black hole is set to swallow up Star Wars Galaxies this coming December 15th – as Sony announced that they will be shutting down that online game after sending out emails to players as well as via messages which were posted on the game’s support forums and website. According to Sony, this closure is not because of the lack of popularity, but rather, due to its contract to run the Star Wars game expiring in 2012. Sony Online Entertainment boss John Smedley mentioned in a recent interview that the combination of the contract completing as well as the imminent arrival of a separate Star Wars game made it “feel like it’s the right time for the game to end”.
Which is the other Star Wars game? You can look towards Bioware’s The Old Republic, and bear in mind that Sony too, runs the free-to-play Clone Wars Adventures online game.
If you’re a gamer on Star Wars Galaxies, it will be a bittersweet end to your adventure. The sweet part will be the fact that the game is free to play for the last few months, since all billing will cease in October. The game itself was launched 8 years back, riding on the popularity of massively multi-player gaming that saw thousands of Force adept players adventure together in a shared online environment. Good game, guys, time to move on now.