Sony Online Entertainment announced today on the EverQuest Online Adventures website that it is closing four of its game services:  EQOA, Cosmic Rift, Infantry, and Star Chamber: The Harbinger Saga.  These games will close for good on March 29, 2012.

EQOA players will be granted 3 months of Gold Membership in both EverQuest and EverQuest II. These gold memberships will be available starting on Friday, March 16, 2012. You can find out more about the end of EQOA in the official EQOA Closure FAQ.

See the entire announcement after the jump or on the EQOA Official Site.

UPDATE: SOE sent an email to EQOA players.  You can see the entire text of the letter on page 2.

Better late then never! ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony was a bit delayed on getting a BFF Report last week, but this week he's back with the BFF Report - Episode #95: The Top 5 Most Controversial Games of 2011! In this episode, Fony... well... he covers the top five most controversial games of 2011. That's pretty much self-explanatory.

Anyway, it's a great way to wrap up 2011 for those of you suffering from your post-holiday funk (it's been two weeks, get over it). If you're still in that "New Years" mood, why not check out ZAM's ongoing "The Top 5 Most Important MMOs of 2012" series? Original titles are running high, people.

EverQuest Online Adventures servers came back online around 10:30am PDT this morning. All EQOA accounted are expected to be credited for the extra days of downtime on top of the 45 days that all SOE accounts were already granted. Naylie announced the restoration this morning on the EQOA official forums:

The EQOA servers are now up and open for play! Thank you for your patience and go play.

As part of the Welcome Back Program, all existing EverQuest Online Adventures players are eligible for these rewards:

• Hero's Land Shark Illusion
• Hero's Moss Snake Scroll
• Experience debt cleared for all characters

Visit the merchants to purchase the reward items for zero cost.

Ten years ago, the launch of EverQuest arguably changed the gaming industry forever. Its combination of gameplay, story and cosmetic appeal was precisely what gamers had been waiting for and would soon be the inspiration for many great, and some not so great games to come. Over the years, Sony Online Entertainment has released a number of subsequent EverQuest games set in the world of Norrath; most notable of which being EverQuest Online Adventures and EverQuest II. While both titles continue to retain an active player-base, lately "Will there be an EverQuest III?" has been an increasingly popular subject. Keep reading for official confirmation that "EverQuest Next" is in development.

EverQuest is celebrating its 10th anniversary in March, but that's not the only game in the franchise celebrating this year. Today marks the sixth birthday of EverQuest Online Adventures!

EQOA turns 6 years old today! (Awww, isn't it cute ?) And just like most 6 year-olds, EQOA's main goal in life is to have fun and...well, play! We want to thank everyone who has adventured with us in Norrath over the past 6 years and we hope you'll continue to play with us for a long time to come. Happy Birthday!

Be sure to stop by the forums and decorate a birthday cake in honor of this grand occasion with us!

We here at Allakhazam would like to wish EQOA and its team a very happy anniversary!

The Town Observer is our chance to highlight some of the fantastic videos that you, the players, have made for EverQuest Online Adventures. This week we stop by to watch some awesome action and some entertaining tunes in "EQoA Weekend Warriors Destruction".

Scheduled to begin on October 31st, EverQuest Online Adventures (EQOA) will officially kick-off fishing season with its first ever in-game fishing tournament. Players can grab their rods and reels and seek out the best locations as weekly prizes will be awarded for catching special tagged fish. Anglers who are able to lure in the tagged fish will be awarded an in-game pet as a reward. The tournament is scheduled to culminate on November 15th, so time is limited. Join in the fun and hook a big one!

Hail, travelers of Norrath!

Get ready as the winds of exciting new changes move through Norrath….

March is one of my favorite months – everything starts to come to life again from the cold of winter, and it's a month of vibrance. Almost as the old calendar changed from February, the sun turned itself up a notch. This month also brought some long anticipated updates, from The Luck quest, to the alternate Plane of Disease ability quest, to a promised pass over Master Classes, and much more. April brings a few more changes like Zaroan Plateau access changes and Alchemist reward exchanges.