Earlier today we were tipped off by a user to the uproar currently taking place on the Champions Online official forums. The boards are ablaze with discontent from users who were blindsided by the news that the lifetime subscription option is no longer available. After all, Cryptic did state the offer would be good until September 1st, but it is only August 25th, so what's the deal?

We hit up Cryptic Studios for a comment on the situation and this is what they had to say:

We'd like to take a moment and hopefully clear up any confusion regarding our discounted Champions Online lifetime and six-month subscription offers...

First, we do sincerely apologize for the rather abrupt end to the promotional offers. It was never our intention to spring that news on our fans or anyone else. In short, we had an allotment of special subscription packages to sell over a fixed time (ending September 1). When we began approaching the offer cap before the date cap, we had to message. Frankly, we never suspected our special offers to be so popular.

While we did mention that supplies were limited in an announcement post, we definitely should have emphasized our limits more explicitly in all our messaging. Again, we just never expected supply to be any kind of an issue. The community response to our offers has been... amazing.

It’s hard for all of us here at Cryptic to see outcry in our communities. We work day and night to create the best gaming experiences we can and any missteps – big or small – on the long, winding, and sometimes treacherous path of development are always regrettable.

We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and we do sincerely hope you understand and come play Champions Online with us this September.

The Champions Online special offers site can be found here.

Is this PR blunder affecting your purchase decision on Champions Online? Were you able to snag a lifetime subscription before they sold out? Let us know in the comments!