City of Heroes is closing down

Veteran superhero MMO City of Hereos will be gone within the year. "In a realignment of company focus and publishing support, NCsoft has made the decision to close Paragon Studios," writes Paragon community manager Andy Belford on the City of Heroes blog . "All recurring subscription billing and Paragon Market purchasing will be discontinued effective immediately."

The announcement was made on Friday, with a note of thanks to the developers and the fans for their dedication over the course of the past eight years. "The team here at Paragon deserves special praise for all that we have accomplished over the last 5+ years. These developers are some of the most creative and talented people in the gaming industry."

City of Heroes landed in America back in '04. The superhero setting and a kick-ass character creator got the plucky upstart noticed, but it was the community that made it a fun place to be. From The Pedant, who'd correct spelling errors in local chat, to the flying bunny man called Watership Doom, City of Heroes' skies were always full of fantastic characters. It will be sad to see it go.

It's fitting, then, that the final words of Paragon's farewell statement be directed at those heroes. "Thank you," writes Belford. "Thank you for your years of support. You've been with us every step of the way, sharing in our challenges, encouraging us to make City of Heroes better, more than everyone else thought it could be. We couldn't have come this far without you. I implore you all, focus on the good things of CoH and Paragon Studios. Don't dwell on the "how" or the "why", but rather join us in celebrating the legacy of an amazing partnership between the players and the development team.

"Thank you, and I'll see you in the skies, one last time."