Players rally in protest against City of Heroes' closure

NCsoft's decision to close Paragon Studios earlier this week consequently meant the shuttering of superhero MMO City of Heroes. That blow landed heavily among the community, but they're striking back with in-game protests and the ever-popular petition -- a petition nearly 14,000 signatures strong so far -- to change NCsoft's mind.

The first gathering takes place this Saturday at 5pm EDT (2pm PDT) in Atlas Park on the Virtue server where organizer TonyV wants "10 instances of Atlas Park going, and so many people camping City Hall that you can't even see the stairs." As with all public displays of outrage, a costume competition immediately follows the rally an hour later. Don't dust off those neon-green space boots just yet: TonyV wants entrants dressed as Paragon employees, but creative expressions of what probably entails lots of jeans, t-shirts, and polos work as well.

"The one thing I ask is please don't be mean, and don't use this as an opportunity to grind an ax you have," TonyV writes. "Let's keep it fun and lighthearted."

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?