The embattled massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG), Tabula Rasa, developed by NCsoft and celebrity game developer Richard Garriott, is set to shut down early next year.

The game, the full title of which is Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, was designed as a counter-point to the current crop of MMORPGs at the time, attempting to provide an alternative to the enormous World of Warcraft, as well as offer a type of MMOG gameplay that differed to the heavy Tolkien-esque fantasy elements and settings covered in the deluge of other games available, instead presenting a sci-fi world that had obvious repercussions on gameplay and how you approached the game’s challenges.

After Richard Garriott himself announced his resignation from NCsoft a week ago, following his 10-day trip into space, all of which has followed troubling times for NCsoft, the future of Tabula Rasa never looked too good, despite Garriott’s best assurances and confidence in the team.

On January 10th, subscription fees for Tabula Rasa will be waived and on February 28th 2009, the game will cease operation. Despite the imminent closure of the game, the developers assured current players; “We’ll be doing some really fun things in Tabula Rasa, and we plan to make staying on a little longer worth your while.” Head over to the official site to read the community post.