EA announces closure of Battlefield Heroes, other free-to-play games

Battlefield Heroes

EA has announced the impending closure of a bunch of their free-to-play PC games. Battlefield Heroes, Battlefield Play4Free, Need for Speed World and FIFA World will all being taken offline mid-July. Their crime? Not being Star Wars: The Old Republic.

"Star Wars®: The Old Republic™ is a game that continues to have a very enthusiastic and growing player community," explains EA's Patrick Söderlund, "and we have plans to introduce more new story-driven game updates to our Star Wars: The Old Republic players this year.

"On the other hand, some of our other PC free-to-play games are not as popular as they once were. So we find ourselves announcing the tough decision today that we are stopping development and winding down support for four PC free-to-play titles: Battlefield Heroes™, Battlefield™ Play4Free, Need for Speed™ World and FIFA World. These games will be live for another 90 days, after which they will go offline."

Over at the Battlefield Heroes site, the exact date of the shutdown is revealed: July 14.

"The war is over! You have fought long and hard but the time for peace awaits us. The Nationals and Royals have finally been able to put the past behind and call a truce. With peace comes an end to a great story, and thus it is with a heavy heart that we must inform you, that on Tuesday July 14th 2015 we will be closing Battlefield Heroes for good and stopping the service in its entirety."

That thread also explains that, as of right now, new Battlefield Heroes accounts are no longer available, and that EA are no longer allowing players to buy 'Play4Free Funds'. No refunds will be given to accounts that have Funds left over.

Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.