Tabula Rasa shutting down on Feb. 28

We kind of knew that Tabula Rasa's run wasn't going to end all that well. And it will end ... on Feb. 28, 2009. This comes after months of reports concerning the NCsoft MMO's poor performance and, most recently, the departure of creator Richard Garriot.

The news of Tabula Rasa's impending shuttering came today via the game's community site, with the team issuing a formal "Thank you and farewell" message to players. "The development team has worked hard to improve the game since launch, but the game never achieved the player population we hoped for," the statement reads. "So it is with regret that we must announce that Tabula Rasa will end live service on February 28, 2009."

Tabula Rasa will be free-to-play beginning Jan. 10, 2009, through the day its servers power down. Subscribers to the game will be given a parting gift from NCsoft to the tune of three free months of City of Heroes, Lineage II, and access to the Aion beta when it becomes available (plus a free month of Aion once it's released).