Chromehounds online play being put down

When Sega's Chromehounds debuted on the Xbox 360 in July of 2006, it garnered cheers for its persistent online multiplayer campaign and jeers for a single-player mode that amounted to little more than a tutorial for online action. That dichotomy will disappear early next year, as Sega today posted on its official Chromehounds message boards that it will discontinue the game's online modes.

"We regret to inform everyone that the Chromehounds online service will be closing on January 6, 2010," an administrator wrote. "At this time, all online components for Chromehounds will no longer be accessible, and the game will only be available for play in Offline modes."

The admin thanked Chromehounds players for their support and urged them to "enjoy the remaining time with the game."

Chromehounds was the first Xbox 360 title developed by From Software. The studio subsequently developed a pair of titles in its signature Armored Core mech combat series for Microsoft's current console, as well the role-playing game Enchanted Arms, and the ninja action games Tenchu: Shadow Assault and Ninja Blade.

For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review of Chromehounds.