Electronic Arts has announced that both Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile will be shut down. Apex Legends Mobile ends May 1, 2023 at 4:00 PM. After that point the game becomes unplayable. No date was provided for Battlefield Mobile, but EA has said it’s halting development. Industrial Toys, the studio behind Battlefield Mobile, has also completely shut down.
“Despite a strong start for Apex Mobile, the ongoing experience did not meet player expectations,” he explained. EA in statements“After months of working with our development partners, we have made a mutual decision to end the mobile game.”
EA continued, “We have also decided to discontinue development of our current Battlefield mobile title. As the industry evolves and the shape is ripe for building a deeply connected Battlefield ecosystem, we will continue to move forward in our current direction. We’ve decided to pivot in a direction that best fits the vision of the franchise and meet the expectations of our players.”
On today’s earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson provided additional sentences in a prepared remark addressing the potential future of Apex Legends on mobile. learned [from Apex Legends Mobile] We have plans to rethink the connected Apex Mobile experience in the future. ”
This seems to indicate that EA may somehow bring Apex Legends back to mobile without Apex Legends Mobile development partner, Tencent subsidiary and PUBG Mobile maker Lightspeed Studios. is.
We have made the decision to end Apex Legends Mobile.
I’m sure you have a lot of questions. For more information about the current situation, including FAQs, read the blog below.https://t.co/Yjr4EOJnTq pic.twitter.com/4k3dGzOL12
— Respawn (@Respawn) January 31, 2023
Later in the call, Wilson gave a more detailed answer as to why Apex Legends Mobile was shut down. He gave three main reasons. The first was about gameplay.
“There is a level of immersion and complexity to Apex gameplay in particular, and this is exactly the verticality of gameplay and team-based play that is the essence of Apex, and it’s not as immersive on mobile devices as we would have hoped. We learned a lot from it.”
Second, Wilson said that while Apex Legends Mobile has attracted core players and initially attracted new users, it “has failed to sustain more casual users at the required speed and has failed to support team play and competitive play.” Play, fluidity across our player base is very important in thinking about the future experience of our players over time.”
Finally, Wilson noted a particularly challenging mobile market, where “changing player personalities” make it difficult to gain a foothold. However, he reiterated EA’s interest in returning to his Apex on mobile, albeit with a different approach.
“The most successful and biggest new launches don’t always have cross-play, they have cross-progression, they have a single unified community and a sense of being part of a single community. It’s deeply tied to the broader franchise: a unified gaming experience.”
Wilson then indicated that EA is thinking along the same lines for Battlefield Mobile. This may return in the future as well.
“Certainly, we learned these things from Apex Legends and developed Battlefield Mobile, so Battlefield has been in development for some time as well, and given the structure of that game, we would expect development to probably go smoothly. And sometimes we face the same challenges,” Wilson said. “And rather than continue to oppose it, we want to come back and take a breather, reset, and really think about our broader franchise strategy so that our leadership can build a truly cross-platform, immersive gaming experience. The future.”
EA continues to work on Battlefield 2042 and says it’s in the pre-production stage for future Battlefield games. Back in September, it was revealed that Halo veteran Marcus Lehto will head up his Ridgeline Games to develop a new Battlefield narrative campaign.
As of today, Apex Legends is Removed from existing stores, all real money in-app purchases will be disabled. However, players will still be able to use their existing syndicate gold to continue playing until May 1st. This shutdown is specific to his version on mobile and will not affect other platforms. Also, no refunds will be given.
In IGN’s Apex Legends Mobile review, “Apex Legends Mobile shows Respawn’s skill in creating unique and sophisticated FPS experiences even on the mobile platform. While the controls are a bit lacking, Apex Mobile is Apex’s most It sets the bar for mobile FPS games with its iconic movement mechanics and ability to keep the unique battle royale experience at its core.”
Update, 01/31: This article has been updated to include multiple statements from Andrew Wilson regarding EA’s third quarter earnings release, as well as news that Industrial Toys has closed.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He has been writing about the industry since his 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR and Variety.
When he’s not writing about video games, George plays them. surprised! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey.
Additional reporting by Rebekah Valentine.
