The publisher is shifting its strategy moving forward
Electronic Arts is shuttering development on two of its mobile projects.Ā Apex Legends MobileĀ is shutting down, and development onĀ Battlefield MobileĀ is coming to a halt.
In an update posted today, the publisher characterized this as a “strategic decision.” In regards toĀ Apex Legends Mobile, EA says that despite the strong start, the “ongoing experience was not going to meet the expectations” of players, and a mutual decision was made to sunset the mobile game.Ā Apex MobileĀ was in development with Tencent subsidiary Lightspeed Studios.
Meanwhile,Ā Battlefield MobileĀ was still in development. The decision was made to pivot from the current direction towards one that will “best deliver” on EA’s vision for the BattlefieldĀ franchise.
“We remain highly committed to unlocking Battlefield‘s enormous potential,” reads today’s statement. “We’re hard at work at evolving Battlefield 2042, are are in pre-production on our futureĀ BattlefieldĀ experiences at our studios across the globe.”
As part ofĀ Battlefield MobileĀ ending development, Industrial Toysāthe studio working on itāis also closing down.
Legends carry on
Respawn and EA have outlined an FAQ on how the sunsetting ofĀ Apex Legends MobileĀ will go down. Starting today, there will be a 90-day window beforeĀ Apex MobileĀ shuts down. As of January 31, or today, all real money in-app purchases are being disabled, andĀ ApexĀ will leave mobile webstores.
During this time, players can spend any lingering Syndicate Gold and continue playing the game. Then on May 1, 2023, all operations will cease and the game will no longer be playable. No refunds will be offered for real money purchases. EA also notes this does not affectĀ Apex LegendsĀ proper, which is independent of the mobile offering.
On today’s financial call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson did leave the door open for future attempts. “We have learned a great deal [fromĀ Apex Legends Mobile] and have plans to reimagine a connectedĀ Apex MobileĀ experience in the future,” said Wilson (via IGN). For now, though, it seems like EA’s mobile FPS ambitions are put on pause.
Published: Jan 31, 2023 06:00 pm