Apex Legends Mobile, the mobile port of EA and Respawn’s popular battle royale shooter, is not long for this world. EA confirmed today, just eight months after the game’s launch, that the free-to-play offshoot will be shutting down on May 1, 2023. What’s more, EA plans to sunset Battlefield Mobile as well.
The original Apex Legends—a multiplayer-only spin-off of sci-fi FPS Titanfall—was surprise launched across consoles and PC back in February 2019 and quickly became a popular entry in the battle royale genre. A few years later, EA and Respawn teased a mobile version of the shooter, and it was eventually released in May of last year for iOS and Android. And now, you’ve only got 90 days to play it before EA kills the servers.
The news of Apex Legends Mobile’s shutdown came earlier today, with Respawn explaining that while the game had a “strong start” the “content pipeline” for it had begun to “fall short” of the studio’s bar for quality and quantity. For that reason, Respawn, EA, and its mobile “development partner” have decided to shut down Apex Legends.
“Although disappointing, we are proud of the game we launched, are grateful for the support of the Apex Legends community, and are confident that this is the right decision for players,” said Respawn in an official update on the studio’s website.
Respawn explained that in 90 days, on May 1, 2023, the game will completely shut down for good. Today, Respawn is also shutting down Mobile’s real-money in-game store and removing Apex Legends Mobile from digital stores. The game will remain fully playable for the next 90 days. EA and Respawn will not be providing any refunds for in-game purchases made during the game’s eight-month run.
If you are worried about the future of Apex Legends on console and PC, Respawn says the decision to end support for the mobile version of the game is specific to that platform and is “independent” from the presumably more popular console and PC versions.
“As a franchise, Apex Legends is strong and we’re looking forward to sharing exciting updates in the future,” said Respawn.
In other EA mobile game news, the company also quietly announced that it was ceasing development on the unreleased Battlefield Mobile, stating that “as the industry has evolved” the publisher’s plans surrounding the long-running milsim franchise have changed. Instead, it will “pivot” from its current direction in order to “best deliver on our vision for the franchise.” EA also confirmed that the next Battlefield game was already in pre-production and that work was continuing on the latest game in the series, Battlefield 2042.
VentureBeat reports that at least one studio, Battlefield Mobile developer Industrial Toys, will be shutting down. This is in line with what Kotaku is hearing about layoffs affecting the studio behind Battlefield Mobile. Kotaku has contacted EA for further information.
Despite reportedly laying off developers and shutting down a studio, EA also announced today that it spent $320 million on stock buybacks this quarter.