Star Wars Galaxies is no more

It’s the end of an era.

The once mighty MMORPG that allowed you to essentially live in the Star Wars universe has come to an end. The servers have been shut down permanently, ending SOE’s contract with Lucasarts. Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long considering that the game had long since turned to the dark side and became like every other MMORPG ever back in 2005 losing many players in the process. Then again, the fact that Star Wars still seems to dominate geek culture in spite of growing increasingly irrelevant over the years was likely what allowed the game to continue on for almost seven more years.

The shut down itself was done in a classy way. Players were warned during September of this year that the shutdown would commence in December and that all currently subscribing players could enjoy the game’s final months for free. There was even a final, climactic PVP battle that allowed players to decide once and for all who won the Galactic Civil War. Heartstrings of many were likely pulled as the servers finally shut down, ending an era for many of the game’s players, but their stories will be kept alive on the game’s website in the form of an online memory book. Currently the home page features a touching statement from game producer Tony Tyson.

Giving players a chance to live out that Star Wars fantasy has been the best part of the job. Some of my favorite memories include fighting Imperial forces on Hoth in the Battle of Echo Base, seeing those first player-created quests in the Chronicle Master System, fighting the undead in the Death Troopers update and, probably best of all, taking part in invasions and actually getting to make a difference for my faction in the Galactic Civil War.

From my first day to the last, Star Wars Galaxies was, and will always be, a meaningful and memorable part of my life, an experience I’ll treasure and share with anyone who wants to hear a good story. It has been an honor to take this journey with you, the community and all of the team members who have made Star Wars Galaxies such an awesome game.

On behalf of the Star Wars Galaxies team, thank you. We have truly enjoyed getting to know you – our dedicated players – over the years. From in-game events to Fan Faires, we appreciate your continued loyalty and support. It would not have been possible without you.

May the Force be with you. Always.

I’ll end this with a story of my own. My fondest memory of Star War Galaxies was the one time I met a player who had actually achieved becoming a Jedi. See, before the updates in 2005, becoming a Jedi in Galaxies was an extremely difficult task that created a proper scarcity of their kind. My trandoshan was busy grinding experience from the local wildlife of Naboo when a creature way out of my league happened upon my struggle and attacked. I was outmatched and had no time to escape. Suddenly, I saw a lightsaber come spinning out of the brush and killed the creature instantly. I was quite relieved to have avoided death, but I was simply in awe of the Jedi that stood before me. I had never even seen one in the game before. He said nothing to me, but that didn’t stop me from following him around like the devoted fan from Oblivion for a while.

How often does something like that happen in any modern MMORPG? Never.

Via Curse