Nintendo's Mario Kart Tour and Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis will both be taken offline later this year, as major game publishers continue to reassess their strategies regarding mobile gaming.
Mario Kart Tour is scheduled to end service on September 29th or 30th, depending on region. Players can no longer purchase the game's premium currency, rubies, or the Gold Pass. In the wake of the announcement, some players have expressed a desire for an offline version of the game, a sentiment that resonates with concerns about "lost media" following Sony's recent decision to end the production of disc-based PlayStation games.
Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis, a mission-based interpretation of the iconic RPG, will cease service on October 6th. Square Enix cited difficulties in supporting the game long-term after careful consideration. The game had shown a slowdown in revenue after its initial launch, generating $20.8 million in September 2023 and $13.3 million the following month. While it surpassed $100 million in player spending by late 2024, with 71 percent of revenue originating from Japan, it struggled to cultivate a sustained community. However, Square Enix has a precedent for transitioning mobile titles into premium, single-player releases, such as Octopath Traveler Champions of the Continent and the upcoming Final Fantasy Resonance, suggesting a potential for Ever Crisis to receive similar treatment.
These shutdowns align with a broader trend of major gaming companies scaling back or rethinking their mobile ventures. Recent months have seen the discontinuation of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and significant downsizing of mobile operations at Sony. IO Interactive has also confirmed its withdrawal from mobile development to concentrate on its core properties, despite the earlier success of its 007 First Light mobile game.