2016 Final Fantasy Game Is Shutting Down

Today, Square Enix announced that it will be shutting down Mobius Final Fantasy on March 31 in Japan. Meanwhile, a few months later on June 30, the worldwide shutdown will happen. The Japanese publisher and games maker doesn't go into great detail as to why it's doing this, but it's presumably because it's costing considerably more money to support than it's bringing in.

For those that don't know: the game first arrived on scene back in June 2015, but that was only in Japan. At the time, it was only available on iOS and Android phones. A year later, the game came to the worldwide market and also came to PC. In other words, it's not even five years old yet, which makes the announcement a bit surprising.

"Greetings, Warriors of Light. Thank you for playing and supporting Mobius Final Fantasy throughout the years," reads a statement that accompanies the announcement. "After many difficult discussions, Square Enix ended service for the Japanese version of Mobius Final Fantasy in December 2019, after the Warrior of Despair story concluded."

Square Enix provides the following breakdown for the shutdown:

• January 15, 2020 at 7:00 pm PST (UTC-8)
  • End-of-service notification (this notice)
• March 31, 2020 at 8:00 pm PDT (UTC-7)
  • End of "Magicite" sales in the global version of the game (any purchased "Magicite" can be used until the end of service)
• June 30, 2020 at 6:00 pm PDT (UTC-7)
  • End of service

"We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all our players who have supported us since service began back on August 3, 2016," adds the aforementioned statement. "It is with heavy heart that we must now bring you this sad news. We will continue to implement updates to in-game events, including the conclusion of the Warrior of Despair story, until the end of service, so it is our fondest hope that you will see our adventurers' fates out to the very last. Thank you for fighting alongside the Warriors of Light and for being a part of the world of Mobius Final Fantasy. May you continue to bring the light of hope to those around you.