Watching a video game that you’ve spent countless hours playing with friends or just grinding alone to unlock the collectible of your dreams is an infliction not wished on the worst of their enemies. But while popular titles on PC and console usually have a long lifespan, the mobile gaming market is arguably not as stable. For example, EA decided to discontinue Battlefield Mobile despite the hype it generated and the fact that it was almost ready to launch.
In this article, we take a closer look at the top five mobile games that have been or will be canceled/turned off in 2023.
Battlefield Mobile
Battlefield Mobile was first mentioned by EA subsidiary DICE in April 2021, and in August 2021 the game made a limited appearance on the Google Play Store. Unfortunately, the game was never fully released as EA announced its cancellation along with Apex Legends Mobile in January.
EA decided to move away from Battlefield Mobile’s current direction in order to better execute its vision for the franchise and meet player expectations. EA also said it remains strongly committed to unlocking Battlefield’s tremendous potential and is working on the further development of Battlefield 2042 and other future Battlefield experiences. As a result of this decision, the game’s development studio, Industrial Toys, was also closed.
Apex Legends Mobile
Launched at the onset of the pandemic, Apex Legends quickly rose to become one of the most popular battle royale titles of all time on PC and consoles. When EA announced the game was making its way to mobile phones in 2021, the excitement was understandable. The game was finally released on May 17th, 2022 and until now it has already been downloaded over 10 million times.
But despite the game’s strong start, EA suddenly decided to shut down the game, saying that the experience would not live up to players’ expectations. The game will go offline on May 1, 2023 – almost a full year after launch.
Auto Chess Mobile
Auto Chess Mobile, a 5v5 PvP arena game developed by Dragonest, has announced the closure of the game just two months after its release. The game faced numerous bugs, lags, ping issues and long matchmaking times that could not be fixed. The developers decided to shut down the servers by February 28th and remove the game from all app stores. Players who bought donuts (premium currency) can exchange them and add them to their Dragonest account in other games. The developers also hinted that they are working on a new game that will bring a better experience.
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, a mobile battle royale game set in the FF7 universe, was discontinued on January 11, 2023. Square Enix announced the decision on Twitter, saying they were unable to deliver the experience they were hoping for. Launching on November 17, 2021 for iOS and Android devices, the game allowed players to compete as soldier recruits in Shinra’s VR simulator. The game was regularly updated but failed to attract enough players.
Call of Duty Cell Phone
CODM isn’t canceled this year, but documents submitted to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of Microsoft’s Activision acquisition show show the game will be “phased out” and replaced by Warzone Mobile.
“CoD: Mobile is developed and owned by TiMi Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent. Any spinout of the game would therefore. CoD: Mobile is expected to be phased out over time (outside China) with the launch of Warzone Mobile,” an excerpt of the document reads.
Released in October 2019, Call of Duty: Mobile has become one of the most popular mobile shooter titles with over 100 million downloads on the Play Store. Warzone Mobile’s early gameplay videos show a promising title, but replacing CODM may not go down well with its fans.
