The long-running MMORPG Shadowbane will be shuttering on May 1, franchise owner Ubisoft has announced.

Shadowbane, created by defunct Wolfpack Studios, has been live for over six years.

The official Shadowbane website read, "We come to you now with regret and sadness, but also happiness and pride. Regret and sadness that it has finally come to this, and as of May 1, 2009 the Shadowbane servers will be powered down once and for all."

Ubisoft gave no specific explanation for the shutdown, although we've contacted the publisher for comment.

The future of Shadowbane had been hanging in the balance for some time. Ubisoft acquired creator Wolfpack in 2004 in an attempt to gain footing in the MMO market. The publisher then announced it would be shuttering the studio in 2006, after announcing that Shadowbane would become free-to-play. Former Wolfpack members went on to form independent online developer Stray Bullet Games, which had been supporting the MMORPG for Ubisoft while working on an unannounced title.

On Ubisoft's Shadowbane forums, some fans hoped the announcement was a belated April Fool's Day joke. Others expressed sadness about the closure. "It will be sad to see Shadowbane go, but it was the pioneer for all [PvP] MMOs, and no other game has been able to duplicate it," reckoned one poster.

Ubisoft's "Shadowbane Farewell" added, "Many passionate and creative individuals have poured their hearts and souls into developing and hosting Shadowbane. We want to thank each and every one of you for your tremendous work and valiant efforts throughout Shadowbane's lifetime."

[The preceding article by Kris Graft also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]