Is it a sign of the times, or has the rocky history of Star Wars Galaxy finally caught up with the MMORPG? According to this official forum post, Sony Online Entertainment plans to gather a garrison of Stormtroopers and terminate twelve of the game's twenty-five servers execution style, killing off just under half of the entire SWG subscriber network. Apparently, the shutdown has been extended due to SOE's "overwhelming success" with the recent Free Character Transfer Service.
"In accordance with the server closure date, the Free Character Transfer service has been extended through October 15. 2009," SOE said in its official announcement. "Between September 15, 2009 and October 15, 2009 at 4:59 PM PT all characters on the affected servers are eligible for a one way, one time Free Character Transfer to any of the remaining thirteen (13) Star Wars Galaxies servers. After October 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM PT, any characters and their associated items and structures remaining on the identified servers being closed will no longer be accessible on your Star Wars Galaxies or Station Access account."
Sony said that character creation will be disabled on the servers due for termination effective immediately (September 15, 2009 at 4:00 AM PDT). For those not wanting to click on the forum link, here's the list of servers SOE will shut down next month:
- Corbantis
- Europe-Infinity
- Intrepid
- Kauri
- Kettemoor
- Lowca
- Naritus
- Scylla
- Tarquinas
- Tempest
- Valcyn
- Wanderhome
Star Wars Galaxies currently costs a monthly subscription fee of $14.99 USD, although SOE offers discounts for 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month block payments. SOE also offers a 14-day free trial for the uninitiated. You really, really want to play this game; you are SOE's only hope.
