After further investigation and interviews with survivors, one player has been identified as the individual to clear the game. Kazuto Kirigaya, screen name "Kirito", defeated the game's operator Kayaba Akihiko in a duel, clearing the game and releasing players.

It is confirmed that Sword Art Online has been cleared, and the game is being erased from the servers. 6,147 players remain alive, however some 300 have yet to wake up. It is unclear why, and is being investigated.

There are reports of SAO players waking up. It is unclear yet how many.

It has been two years since the SAO Disaster began. Not much information is known about the status of surviving players, only that their numbers continue to drop. The creator, Kayaba Akihiko, remains the most sought after criminal on the planet.

It has been one year since the SAO Disaster began. Thousands of players have died, and even more remain trapped in the death game. Despite this, the first full dive VRMMORPG since the disaster releases today: ALfheim Online (ALO) for the AmuSphere.