I Feel A Disturbance In The Force, As If Several Servers Cried Out In Terror, And Then Were Silenced

SOE to close Star Wars Galaxies in December.

On December 15, 2011, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and LucasArts will end all services (MMO and Trading Card Game) for Star Wars Galaxies (SWG). The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game.

The launch of a different Star Wars-related MMO by a competitor in late 2011 is, no doubt, a coincidence.

Massively has more from John Smedley on SWG's closure.

The decision to shut down SWG is first and foremost a business decision mutually agreed upon between SOE and LucasArts. LucasArts has a new game coming out, and the contract would be running out in 2012 anyway, so we feel like it's the right time for the game to end.

SOE has taken flak for various problems in the game's past -- do you think the company will take a reputation hit for this decision, and are you prepared for that?

There's really nothing we can do about it. We've taken some hard-knocks for SWG in years past with the NGE. We've apologized for it. It was a mistake, and not one we're going to make as a company ever again. But we're really proud of the great work that we've done over the years since then. I'm really proud of the game. It's great. Is it going to bum people out that it's over? Yes. Including us. Maybe even especially us.

How is the staff taking it?

Well, nobody's losing his job or anything. They're going to be transferred onto an undisclosed new project in Austin.

For now, I leave you with the best of SWG:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aqSp7Qji-M