The North American and European servers for the free-to-play MMOG RF Online are being shut down.
Codemasters, which operates the game under license in North America and Europe, said it was unable to negotiate a new contract with Korean developers CCR to continue the game’s operation. As a result, all American and European game servers will be shut down on the morning of November 10, 2008. The game will continue to operate normally until then, but the purchase of in-game credits is no longer being allowed, and new account creation is no longer available.
“RF Online was Codemasters Online’s first MMO service and we have been very proud of its development and success during its three years of existence,” the company said in the announcement of the closure. “It was also one of the first Eastern-style MMORPGs to ever make it to Western market and do well and it’s with much fondness that we look back and remember these achievements. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who declared their allegiance and gave us their support with RF Online over the past few years and especially, to thank all the players who spent countless hours with us in Novus.”
Following the shutdown, existing RF Online characters will be archived for at least a year, although Codemasters said that even if another operator picks up the license to run the game, there are currently no plans to offer character transfers. The company did say, however, that “certainly benefits and rewards will be given out” to eligible long-term players; terms of eligibility were not revealed, but the shutdown FAQ said all qualifying players will be contacted by email before the end of the year.
via: Voodoo Extreme
