Phantasy Star Online 2 is five years old, but anyone who wants to play the game in North America without downloading an unofficial English patch is still out of luck. The introduction of the Southeast Asia localized version was a bit of a hope spot for those still hoping for a localized release, but that was a couple of years ago now. Also, that version of the game is being shuttered as of May 26th, so that’s not exactly a good sign for people hoping for an eventual export.
No reasons are cited for the shutdown, just that the service contract with Sega is coming to an end and players will be unable to spend any more actual money on the game as of April 21st. Free premium time is being granted to all accounts in light of the shutdown. Our sympathy goes out to all players affected by the shutdown of this version of the game; it’s worth noting that the original Japanese servers are still running with no sign of stopping.
