NCSoft Auftin has finally pulled the plug on the MMO which struggled from its outset. Although it was fairly well received by reviewers, receiving between 7\/10 and 8\/10 from most major publications, the game struggled to attract and maintain a significant player base. <\/p>\n
The game was developed by the same team that was behind Ultima Online, and was an RPG with shooter elements. It went live on October 30 2007 and ran for just 15 months.<\/p>\n
Master mind Richard Garriott announced that he would be leaving NCSoft Austin late in 2008. The announcement came a few weeks after he became the world’s six space tourist. Garriott is the son of an astronaut, and claimed that the experience, which cost him $30 million, inspired him to pursue other interests.<\/p>\n
A few weeks after Garriott’s departure, Tabula Rasa’s development team announced that the game would be shutting down on February 28 2009, citing lower than expected in-game population as the major factor behind the decision. <\/p>\n
Tabula Rasa became free to play on December 23 2008.<\/p>\n
The actual shutting down of the servers was incorporated into the MMO’s storyline. Basically, NCSoft created a final assault whereby humanity was finally overrun by “The Bane”.<\/p>\n