Sony's shutting down its free-to-play Vita game Destiny of Spirits

Sony is ending service for Destiny of Spirits, its free-to-play role-playing game for PlayStation Vita, in June, the company announced today. The RPG will have had a relatively short lifespan; Sony Computer Entertainment released the game just last year on March 25.

Destiny of Spirits will no longer be available after June 30, Sony says. Players will not be able to play or access the game after that date, and all unused Destiny Orbs — an in-game currency that can be purchased with real money — will expire.

Sony didn't offer an explanation for the game's cancellation, but noted that more than one million players have downloaded Destiny of Spirits. The company plans to hold a Fan Appreciation Campaign and bring back past game events with the game's final update, version 1.12.

Sony plans to continue selling Destiny Orbs until the game's closure in the Americas. It will stop selling Orbs on April 28 in Europe and April 29 in Asia.

Destiny of Spirits was described by its creators as a "destination-based RPG." It tasks players with collecting spirits by traveling to real world locations; as players go to different regions, including different countries, they encounter new spirits that are unique to that area.  The game was designed so players would want to take their Vita with them when they travel, in order to take advantage of each day's unique content.