Well sad or good news depending which side of the coin you look at Sony Online Entertainment’s Star Wars Galaxies because it has being announced that the game is to be shut down by the end of the year.

The press release by Sony Online Entertainment & Lucas Arts stated:

Dear Star Wars Galaxies™ Community Member,

We write to you today to inform you that on December 15, 2011, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and LucasArts will end all services (MMO and Trading Card Game) for Star Wars Galaxies (SWG). The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game.

We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans. We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities and we truly appreciate the support we’ve received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years.

In recognition of your incredible loyalty, we are extending special Fan Appreciation offers to the current SWG community. We also plan to go out with a bang with a galaxy-ending in-game event in December and hope to see you all there. The details relating to these offers and events as well as the timeline and specifics regarding the discontinuation of the service, are provided below.

Again, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our player community for making SWG one of the best online communities in gaming history.

Sincerely,
Sony Online Entertainment & LucasArts

Also a list of important dates has being given out for Star Wars Galaxies past and future.

• June 24th 2011 – 12, 6 and 3-month subscription packs turned off & TCG store closes.
• September 15th 2011 – SWG MMO and Trading Card Game no longer available for sale or subscription & No new or reactivated accounts accepted after this date.
• October 15th 2011 – Billing turned off & Free game trials begin
• December 15th 2011 – Star Wars Galaxies service ends
• December 31st 2011 – Free game trials end

For some more details check out the SWG Player Info page