If you're a current player of the MMO Clone Wars Adventures, I have some bad news. Sony Online Entertainment(SOE) has announced their plans to shut down the game, among others, on March 31st of this year. This, along with the shut down of Star Wars Galaxies in 2011, leaves Bioware's The Old Republic as the sole Star Wars MMO, at least for now. SOE's senior Director of Global Communications Michele Cagle had this to say:
“At Sony Online Entertainment, we are always evaluating our portfolio to ensure we’re providing players with the best gameplay experiences. At times, as part of this commitment, we have to make the difficult decision to sunset a game so we can refocus our resources on other areas in the best interest of our company and player community.
With that said, it is with a heavy heart that we announce our decision to discontinue development on Free Realms, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Wizardry Online. Although these closures will occur later this year, in the spirit of full transparency, we are announcing this now so our players have time to adjust to the news and make plans to enjoy the time remaining in these games.”
More details about what can we expect in the next few months was revealed on the CWA Forums:
"The game is now at a stage in its cycle where players are growing up and moving on so we have mutually agreed with LucasArts to sunset the game on March 31, 2014. We will be sending the game off in an exciting way that players would come to expect for this epic franchise."
Does that mean upcoming gameplay will tie into the much anticipated 'Bonus Content' which is tentatively scheduled for release within the next few months? Let's hope so! It would certainly be a fitting end for the game.
Ultimately, this action makes sense, due to the TV series coming to a close soon itself. But let's not forget that the horizon for Star Wars gaming is not bleak at all. Star Wars: Attack Squadrons was recently announced and is currently in Beta testing, meanwhile, the next Star Wars Battlefront is currently under development! And I'm sure, taking into account fans obvious interest in MMO RPG's, Disney & Lucasfilm will work to replace Clone Wars Adventures with bigger and better games.
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