Shadowbane Character Wipes

Ubisoft's official Shadowbane community website brings word that the game's servers will be wiped of all character data as part of the upcoming Patch 22 update.
We will be updating the Shadowbane Test Server with the first iteration of Patch 22 later this afternoon. There are a variety of changes associated with this update but most talked about development will be what we are referring to as (Shadowbane Reboot).

The Shadowbane Team decided that it would be best for the longevity of the game to reset all server and character data and start from scratch. By doing so, the game benefits in a variety of ways. First, we feel the community will be better served by being more consolidated and less fragmented. Second, resetting the game removes items that have accumulated over the years that have caused imbalances to the game. In addition, numerous updates and enhancements have been made to the Shadowbane service to improve the performance. Some of the changes were not as effective due to preexisting data and resetting the service will allow the servers to work under optimal conditions. Finally, this update also gives us a chance to address certain game issues.

This can't be good news for anyone still playing the game, can it?