As hard as City of Heroes fans tried, with the massive outpouring of support and love for Paragon Studios' superhero game, it just wasn't enough. NC Soft issued a press release that said, though it heard and appreciated all the effort, they just can't keep the studio open.

It has not been an easy decision for us to close Paragon Studios® and prepare to shut down City of Heroes. We've exhausted all options including the selling of the studio and the rights to the City of Heroes intellectual property, but in the end, efforts to do so were not successful. City of Heroes has a special place in all of our hearts, and we want to ensure its reputation and the memories we share for the game end on a high note.

The tentative November 30th closure date is still on, unfortunately. Heroes and villains alike will have to watch the time until that day.

Julian "Mirai" Williams

When news broke last month from Paragon Studios that the superhero MMO, City of Heroes, would be shutting its doors, the fans refused to give up.

City of Heroes is basically marching towards its own death with the closure of the studio. But fans are hearing none of it, and are pouring tons of love and support for the studio.

Over 3000 fans gathered in the center of Atlas Park to show their support for the game. Masks and capes with signatures are being sent to NCSoft in hopes to show the sheer volume of love for Paragon City's adventures. Letters have been written to the studio hoping to persuade Taek Jin Kim, the CEO of NCSoft, to change his mind. The letters even caught Mercedes Lackey's attention, noted fantasy writer who contributed to City of Heroes some time ago, who has encouraged the support and promised assistance to keep the game alive. 

It's anyone's guess if this can penetrate the villanous CEO heart of a Korean online-game juggernaut (okay, Jin Kim is probably a great guy, I'm only kidding), but here's to hoping. 

Julian "Mirai" Williams

Sad news breaks this afternoon as City of Heroes' production team Paragon Studios announces it is closing.

City of Heroes is now letting players affect their in-game world in their newest contest: 'Create a Blockbuster Movie Poster and Win!' If you've got a talent for art or 3d modeling, or just really really like taking screenshots, this is your chance to get your character immortalized. The City of Heroes website details all of the important rules - dimensions, how to send it to them, as well as rules to detect theft, like sending in entires in PSD format. Entrants, you have a month to put together your submission, and you better make it good, because competition is going to be tough. 

Now I just need to dust off my copy of Photoshop to assemble the epic struggle between Mancow and his arch-nemesis, Farmer John.

City of Heroes Issue 22: Death Incarnate is making its way to servers today, and with it comes the troubling times to follow the death of the Statesman. Death Incarnate begins with the search for the next hero of Paragon City, alongside a pile of new additions, including:

• Dark Astoria Incarnate Zone: A co-op style incarnate zone where players will "traverse the dark, twisted, undead nightmare that has become Dark Astoria."
• Darkness Power Set: A brand new power set for Controllers and Dominators, giving them command over shadows and spectral minions.
• Dilemma Diabolique Incarnate Trial: Heroes and Villains alike will fight against the evil sorceress Diabolique as she tries to usurp power from the banished god Mot.
• ... and More Content For All Levels: This includes a new PvE Trial Drowning in Blood, new mission arcs in Steel Canyon and Cap au Diable, and a new Adamastor Zone Event in Talos Island and Sharkhead Isle.

More details are now available for players interested in attending the City of Heroes Freedom Player Summit on April 28, 2012. The event is going to be held once again at the Dinah's Garden Hotel in Palo Alto California. If you need accommodations for the event, be sure to contact the Dinah's Garden Hotel for special rates for attendees. Tickets will be at a discounted $40 if purchased online and available through Brown Paper Tickets. If, for whatever reason, you aren't able to purchase the tickets online, a limited quantity will be available at the door for $50. It is important to remember that once you purchased your ticket that you email cohcommunity@paragonstudios.com with the following information:

• Subject: FPS Attendee Badge
• Your name and your character's name
• An image of yourself or a screenshot of your character that you would like to appear on your badge. Please provide photographs against a solid background

As for the schedule and activities, there will be some returning favorites as well as some new interactive panels like "Design a Costume Set" or "Make Your Case - Zone Revamp". But the most noteable change is that the Summit will be single-track, meaning no split rooms with limited seating. This means you don't have to decide which panels you want to attend, and users watching via UStream don't have to pray their panel makes the livestream. Remember that all children under 18 that attend must be accompanied by an adult. 

You can check out the entire schedule for the event here.

The list of yearly co-op tasks in City of Heroes just got a little larger! In addition to previous years events, this year we can look forward to two brand new holiday missions as well as  new badges and temporary powers.

The first new mission is available for characters above level 30, and revolves around the infamous Red Widow, Lord Recluse's long-deceased love. Completing this mission rewards you the Widow Maker badge! And of course it wouldn't be Valentines day without love letters, but sadly a few letters have been lost throughout Paragon City. It's up to you to find and deliver them to the right recipient... or if Valentines Day just isn't your holiday... feel free to misdirect the letters as well!

For more information on these quests and their valuable rewards, check out the news post on City of Heroes website here. The Spring Fling event begins Wednesday, February 8, at 7am PST and ends on Monday, February 27, at 7am PST.

It's not too often you hear of an MMORPG killing off its iconic poster-boy but, then again, City of Heroes is not your average MMORPG. With the death of City of Heroes' Statesman, the City of Heroes team notes that this was their big opportunity to declare that "City of Heroes [had] grown up and left the nest from which it was born." For those that don't know, the Statesman was the character of Jack Emmert, lead designer of the original City of Heroes that launched almost ten years ago (well, eight).

It's obvious, of course, that the team put a lot of thought and effort into killing off this symbolic character, and Paragon Studios' Matt "Positron" Miller has even written a touching eulogy for the Statesman. Farewell, Statesman!

City of Heroes Issue 22: Death Incarnate, the first major free update to City of Heroes Freedom since going free-to-play will bring a massive amount of new content including:

• New powers
• Costumes
• VIP-member content
• Endgame trials

With level +50 players participating in co-op gameplay, a horrifying new Power Set for Controllers and Dominators, and more content for all levels, Death Incarnate is brining a lot to the table. For detailed information on all the latest you can find in Issue 22: Death Incarnate be sure to visit City of Heroes website for a complete list of the upcoming content.