No amount of force or plucky rebel spirit will stop Star Wars Galaxies from ending, but at least Sony Online Entertainment is planning to give players some degree of closure. This week, the company posted details on how it will shutter the eight-year MMO, beginning with a final tally this December.
As documented on SOE's site, The Galactic Civil War will come to an end on Wednesday, December 14, at 9pm PST, after which scores will be tallied and the winners and losers will be notified. Scheduled restarts will commence the next morning, on Thursday, December 15, followed by a complete server shut down that night at 9pm PST.
Despite the official score-keeping coming to a close on December 14, SOE insists everyone is invited to spend one last day enjoying the game, even if it is to gloat over the losers or grief the winners.
Star Wars Galaxies' demise was officially announced this June. Online protests broke out days later, but to no avail. A popular theory for the shut-down (besides having run its course for a respectable number of years) is that SOE decided to bow out gracefully in anticipation of EA and BioWare's release of Star Wars: The Old Republic this December. Whatever the reasons, we bid adieu to one Galaxy and hope its orphans find a new home in the Old Republic. Assuming they'll want to, of course.
