SOE Closing Vanguard, Free Realms & Two Other Titles

Take part in the Reddit AMA with SOE President John Smedly.

We have received word that Sony Online Entertainment has made the decision to close four of its titles: Free Realms, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Wizardry Online and Vanguard Saga of Heroes. Official announcement threads have been started on each game's forum to give the sad news to current players. 

Kids' games Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures will officially shut down on March 31st, followed by Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Wizardry Online on July 31st. 

SOE's Senior Director of Global Communications Michele Cagle provided us with the following information and forum links:

• Free Realms: This game has been a true labor of love at SOE and we’ve experienced amazing memories with our players over the years. The game has reached a point in its life cycle where players are moving on to other games. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished with this game and have unwavering praise for our players who joined us along the way. The game will sunset on March 31, 2014. For more info, visit: https://forums.station.sony.com/freerealms/index.php?threads/with-heavy-hearts-we-announce-the-sunset-of-free-realms.40323/
• Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures: 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. For more info, visit: https://forums.station.sony.com/clonewars/index.php?threads/with-heavy-hearts-we-announce-the-sunset-of-clone-wars-adventures.18224/
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes: As one of our longest running games, this was a difficult decision that wasn’t taken lightly. As a company, our mission is to deliver the best online worlds, but given the decreasing player population we cannot justify the resources required to support and update this game in a way our players deserve. With the increasing technical challenges involved in updating this older game, we would be doing our players a disservice as these are issues that cannot be resolved in the long term. The game will sunset on July 31, 2014. For more info, visit: https://forums.station.sony.com/vg/index.php?threads/with-heavy-hearts-we-announce-the-sunset-for-vanguard.71211/
• Wizardry Online: We have mutually agreed with our partners at Gamepot to sunset this hardcore fantasy MMORPG based on the Wizardry franchise on July 31, 2014. The opportunity to bring this storied franchise to players across North America was a great honor, and we thank the players for the battles and experiences we’ve celebrated together in the game. For more info, visit: https://forums.station.sony.com/wo/index.php?threads/with-great-regret-we-announce-your-wizardry-journey-is-coming-to-an-end.4771/

Also, one final note, SOE President John Smedley will be taking questions from the community during an AMA on Reddit at 3 p.m. today.