Speaking with SOE's John Smedley, Massively.com learned that Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) will officially cease operations on December 15th, 2011. When asked why the game was coming to a close, Smedley responded, “The decision to shut down SWG is first and foremost a business decision mutually agreed upon between SOE and LucasArts.”

The SWG licensing contract between SOE and LucasArts is scheduled to run out in 2012 and it appears that neither party will be attempting to renew it with the impending release of BioWare’s upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic and SOE’s other title, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. Smedley also explained that the cancellation is a business decision and not related to a shrinking playerbase or the hacker attacks earlier this year.

As for now, the sun is setting in SWG, but SOE will announce a few event and content plans as the year goes on. Check out the full interview with John Smedley over at Massively.