Sony Online Entertainment Shutting Down 4 MMO Games in 2014

Sony Online Entertainment is planning on taking four of their games offline in 2014, bringing an end to some of the longest running games the company has currently on the roster.

IGN is reporting that on March 31 Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures will no longer be available for fans to play. Following the shutdown of these games Sony Online Entertainment will be taking Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Wizardry Online offline on July 31. Sony sent an official statement regarding this move so that players can plan in advance what they wish to do with the limited time left in the games:

"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."

This is a disappointment to the fans of these four games, but the silver lining in this news is that no employees working on these games are being laid off, as Sony Online Entertainment has stated that nobody will lose their jobs over the shutdown of these games.
Much of Sony's reasoning behind shutting down these games has to do with the fact that the original users for some of these games have gone and moved on to newer or more mature games. For example, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures is based on a television show that is now cancelled, so the demand to play an MMO based on the series has dwindled. The same could be said of Free Realms and Wizardry Online, as the games has had players leave the game in order to try different MMO games. As for the long running Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Sony made the difficult decision to end the game due to the ageing technology behind the game and the cost of maintaining the game for the dedicated users still playing it.