EA Studios Shutdown of 4 Free-To-Play PC Games: Battlefield Heroes, FIFA World, Need for Speed Being Made Unavailable

Gamers were disappointed when EA Studios announced recently that it was shutting down four free-to-play games for the PC. The four games are "Battlefield Heroes," "Battlefield Play4Free," "Need for Speed World" and "FIFA World."

In making the announcement in a blog post, EA Studios executive vice president Patrick Soderlund said the four games had become unpopular with players. "EA Studios had made the tough decision to stop development on them and wind down support," Soderlund said, adding that they would gradually be phased out in about 90 days.

"Battlefield Heroes" will be shut down on July 14. The shutdown dates for the other games have not yet been announced. Players who accumulated stacks of currency in the games will lose them if they do not spend them before the games are shut down. No refunds are planned.

As for "Battlefield Heroes," new sign-ups have been stopped and in-game currency purchases ended.

Some of these free-to-play PC games were released about five years ago, giving gamers "pioneering experiences," according to Soderlund. But the gaming industry has changed rapidly, and these games were no longer considered popular, he added.

EA Studios will still offer "Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances" in addition to "Star Wars: The Old Republic" as free-to-play games for the PC. The company said these games continue to bring in a number of new players and will therefore remain operational.