You want fries with that?

Been kind of bummed since last night, when I learned that City of Heroes will be shut down at the end of November. Now, I know it's "just a game" but still, it was -my- game, one I spent countless hours on, talking to people, playing, enjoying the content and most of all, the community. 5 years of my life were invested in this game, it was my stress relief, my outlet for role-play and creativity and I am sad to see it go, and angered at the abrupt announcement by the owners, NCSoft. Even the development team at Paragon Studios, who work on the game, didn't know this was coming.

The game was still making money up until the announcement, but it seems, not enough. Instead of axing other products that lost money, this one gets the boot. Even after it went free to play, I kept my paid subscription, because I loved the game so much, as did many other players. Heck, the game's profits went up a little after it went FTP, thanks to the in-game market system.

I came to the "City" just before my other beloved game, a MUD my husband and I owned for 10 years, closed down, so this hits kind of hard. My characters were my creations, their 'lives' important and rich with the roleplay I was lucky enough to participate in. I know all things must end, but dammit, I had so many plans, so many stories yet to be experienced and told. I plan to spend the next few months playing the hell out of the game, and enjoying it while I can.

I don't know if I want to get involved in another MMORPG after this. I probably will, just to have something to play, but it will never be the same.

And to you, NCSoft, you will never see another penny of my money ever again, nor will you likely see any from the majority of the player base.