Seeing a videogame you’ve spent countless hours playing with friends or just grinding alone to unlock the collectable of your dreams is an infliction one wouldn’t wish upon the worst of their enemies. But while popular titles on PC and console typically see lengthy lifetimes, the mobile gaming market is arguably not that stable. For example, EA has decided to cancel Battlefield Mobile despite the hype it generated and the fact that it was nearly ready to launch.

In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at the top five mobile games that have been or will be cancelled/shut down 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 Google Play Store appearance. Sadly, the game never saw a full release as EA announced its cancellation along with Apex Legends Mobile in January.

EA decided to pivot from the current direction of Battlefield Mobile to better deliver on its vision for the franchise and meet the expectations of players. EA also said it remains highly committed to unlocking Battlefield’s enormous potential and is working on evolving Battlefield 2042 and other future Battlefield experiences. The game’s development studio, Industrial Toys, has also been shut down as a result of this decision.

Apex Legends Mobile

Launched at the start of the pandemic, Apex Legends quickly rose to become one of the most popular battle royale titles ever on PC and consoles. So when EA announced that the game is making its way to mobile phones in 2021, the excitement was understandable. The game was finally released on May 17, 2022, and cut to now, it’s already been downloaded over 10 million times.

But despite the game’s strong start, EA suddenly decided to sunset the game saying that the experience wasn’t going to meet the expectations of players. 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-based game developed by Dragonest, has announced the game’s closure after just two months of release. The game faced numerous bugs, lags, ping problems 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 purchased Donuts (premium currency) can exchange them and add them to their Dragonest account in other games. The developers also hinted at working on a new game that will bring a better experience.

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Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, a mobile battle royale game set in the FF7 universe, sunsetted on January 11, 2023. Square Enix announced the decision on Twitter, saying that they were unable to deliver the experience they were hoping for. The game launched on November 17, 2021, for iOS and Android devices, and allowed players to compete as soldier recruits in Shinra’s VR simulator. The game received regular updates but failed to attract enough players.

Call of Duty Mobile

CODM isn’t getting cancelled this year, but documents submitted to UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of Microsoft’s Activision acquisition show, the game will be “phased out” and will be replaced by Warzone Mobile.

“CoD: Mobile was developed and is 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 of China) with the launch of Warzone Mobile,” reads an excerpt from the document.

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Released in October 2019, Call of Duty: Mobile has since grown to become one of the most popular shooter titles on mobile, clocking over 100 million downloads on the Play Store. Warzone Mobile’s early gameplay videos show a promising title, but CODM being replaced may not sit well with its fans.