Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts have announced that the venerable Star Wars MMO, Star Wars Galaxies, will be shutting down later this year. With the Star Wars contract between LucasArts and SOE ending in 2012, both parties have come to the decision to end service for the game on December 15, 2011.

The official announcement can be viewed below or on the official Star Wars Galaxies forums:

Dear Star Wars Galaxies™ Community Member,

We write to you today to inform you that 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.

We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans.  We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities and we truly appreciate the support we’ve received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years.

In recognition of your incredible loyalty, we are extending special Fan Appreciation offers to the current SWG community. We also plan to go out with a bang with a galaxy-ending in-game event in December and hope to see you all there. The details relating to these offers and events as well as the timeline and specifics regarding the discontinuation of the service, are provided below.

Again, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our player community for making SWG one of the best online communities in gaming history.

Sincerely,

Sony Online Entertainment & LucasArts

For additional information, Massively.com sat down with SOE's John Smedley to discuss the shut down.

This is like commiting suicide before SWTOR comes to pull the trigger.

Sooo....how did that NGE work out for you SOE?

So SAD :(

I just came back after years of not playing becouse sony got hacked. Sony gave everybody that had a old acount 45 free days.

To bad they are shutting the game down. I was having fun playing SWG.

It is the best way to wait for TOR now.

This is oddly poetic.

Kind of like how the Empire gets destroyed and balance is finally brought to the force... But Vader and the Emperor wiped out the Jedi, and billions of other lives first.

SoE / Lucas Arts embraced the dark side and have paid the ultimate price for their twisted plans and ways. Their game is dead.

That's really sad... It's never a good thing to see any MMORPG die. RIP SWG!

SWG will forever live in the annals of MMO history for what not to do to during a game's development cycle.

Originally posted by remyburke

SWG will forever live in the annals of MMO history for what not to do to during a game's development cycle.

Course: How To Alienate Your Entire Playerbase - 101

Professor: Dr. John Smedley

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

Now can the swg vets get over it?  Please!

I will always remember the pre-nge game as  perhaps THE mmo, were i met the truest friends, and most terrible enemies, and had tons of fun. 

it might be poetic justice, but somehow i feel they kinda asked for it all those years ago, sadly.

R.I.P old friend.

Originally posted by waynejr2

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if hundreds of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

 

Now can the swg vets get over it?  Please!

FTFY

But hey don't worry! We will always have World of Old RepublicCraft!~

Seriously, a great sandbox game ends and we will be getting a generic washed out themepark sw mmo instead? And by Bioware of Dragon Age II fame instead of Bioware of KOTOR1 Fame?

This just proved that there's no god in this world. If this world had a god, such injustice would not happen and everyone would be happily playing singleplayer KOTOR III continuation of kotor frnachise and SWG would have never got NGE.

Originally posted by waynejr2

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

 

Now can the swg vets get over it?  Please!

nope,

let the "I told you so" begin!

but honestly

who didn't see this comming, we knew the population was not up to par to make money, all the profits came from the station pass. 

i am not surprized at all

I have a bad feeling about this :P

Making way for the WoW Star Wars mod!

I hope someone start SWG vet support group...to what will they channel all that hate and frustration to...you know, the one that has kept them bashing NCU for 8 years or so?

Originally posted by sevitoth

Sooo....how did that NGE work out for you SOE?

 

 So well aparently since they decided to make a themepark next ;p

Well Lucas at least Soe, who care really ?

my heart will always have a place in SWG. RIP

I thought they would try f2p before closing. I guess the change to f2p would cost too much to develop and be too late.

Originally posted by Yuui

But hey don't worry! We will always have World of Old RepublicCraft!~

 

 

Seriously, a great sandbox game ends and we will be getting a generic washed out themepark sw mmo instead? And by Bioware of Dragon Age II fame instead of Bioware of KOTOR1 Fame?

 

This just proved that there's no god in this world. If this world had a god, such injustice would not happen and everyone would be happily playing singleplayer KOTOR III continuation of kotor frnachise and SWG would have never got NGE.

I don't know if you were being serious or not, but either way this made me laugh so hard.