City of Heroes and Paragon Studios to be shut down by end of the year

Paragon Studios has announced City of Heroes will be shut down by the end of the year, as will the studio itself.

According to a post on the MMO's official website, community manager Andy Belford stated that NCsoft will also be shuttering the studio due to a "realignment of company focus and publishing support." It's reported that 80 employees have been laid-off so far.

"Effective immediately, all development on City of Heroes will cease and we will begin preparations to sunset the world's first, and best, Super Hero MMORPG before the end of the year," Belford wrote. "As part of this, all recurring subscription billing and Paragon Market purchasing will be discontinued effective immediately.

"We will have more information regarding a detailed timeline for the cessation of services and what you can expect in game in the coming weeks.

"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."

City of Heroes launched on April 28, 2004 with Cryptic at the helm, before NCsoft acquired the rights to the game, handing it off to Paragon.

The game's servers will be turned off on November 30.