Everything’s gotta die ultimately, and Square Enix heard the dying knell loud and clear. Dig up an early grave as a result of the corporate’s battle royale cellular recreation, Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, will shut down on January 11, 2023.

Launched in November 2021, The First Soldier was Square Enix’s try and capitalize on the favored battle royale development. Think Fortnite, however with swords and chocobos as a substitute of simply weapons and vehicles. You created a personality adorned with outfits worn by sequence faves like Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, then skydived onto numerous Migar maps with 74 different gamers to be the final soldier standing. I had a blast with the sport regardless of some efficiency points and its exclusivity on Android and iOS platforms. Still, it crossed a million downloads not lengthy after it launched, so there was an viewers.

Square Enix introduced on the sport’s official web site, a month earlier than its first anniversary, that service for The First Soldier will come to an finish in January. The weblog publish specified that the corporate couldn’t “deliver the experience that we were hoping to and that you all deserve,” resulting in the sport’s unceremonious shuttering. I’m not completely certain a revive materia will work right here, y’all. Sadly, I believe this one is done-done. Permadeath bought to it.

“Although there is only a little less than three months until service ends, we will continue to make updates during this time, so we hope you will continue to enjoy Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier until the very end,” Square Enix mentioned. “We would like to thank you all for supporting us over the past year.”

G/O Media could get a fee

Up to $470 Off

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 + Galaxy Z Fold 4

Flex, pose, post
In the face of stern competition from rival Apple, Samsung has really upped its game for Amazon’s Early Access Sales event. Right now you can nab two of the hottest new smartphones on the market: The Z Flip 4 and the Z Fold 4, for up to almost 25% off the usual asking price. This is a hell of a deal, considering both phones have been available for less than two months. If you’ve been waiting on an upgrade, now’s the time.

The community is shooketh but not necessarily surprised by the announcement. Many in the tweet’s mentions saw the writing on the wall, significantly as a result of The First Soldier was cellular solely. One tweeter mentioned the “game design worked well together,” however the efficiency points have been its “killing blow.” Another merely argued that the Avalanche gang—members like Biggs and Jessie alongside Barret and Cloud—ought to’ve been added to Fortnite as a substitute. Most appear to agree, although, that it may see a resurgence if it re-releases on PC.

Kotaku has reached out to Square Enix for remark.

This information bums me out, and never simply as a video games preservation fanatic. In my impressions a couple of days after it dropped, I known as The First Soldier an “intriguing mix” of Final Fantasy design and battle royale emergent gameplay that suffered for being a mobile-only launch. The small telephone display screen does the sport completely no favors, making it troublesome to kind by way of all of the on-screen info. Couple the puny show with the occasional efficiency points—dropped frames, enter delay, and so forth.—and you’ve got a irritating albeit exhilarating free-to-play battle royale motion recreation. Maybe issues would’ve been totally different had it launched on consoles and PC. But that is the timeline we stay in, and it all the time sucks when a recreation dies, irrespective of the explanation.