The Rise and Fall of Square Enix's Mobile Games: A Look at the Shutdowns of Engage Kill and Full Metal Alchemist Mobile

The Unsuccessful Ventures of Square Enix

Publisher Square Enix has announced that it will be shutting down two mobile games, Engage Kill and Full Metal Alchemist Mobile, in March. This follows the sunsetting of Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier earlier in 2023 and the latest in a long line of unsuccessful Square Enix mobile projects.

Though the move likely took players by surprise, some people had already foreseen the eventual demise of Engage Kill as Square Enix also doesn't have a reliable track record for mobile games. Engage Kill fans on Reddit have observed that there were many factors working against it, such as a perceived less-than-stellar game experience and other anime projects overtaking it in quality and popularity. Its ranking on Japanese game stock tracking site Game-i fell steadily throughout December, and the reason given by Square Enix points toward Engage Kill likely not meeting its revenue targets consistently.

Despite its solid performance on consoles and PC, so far Square Enix hasn't had similar wild success on the mobile front. In January, it also closed down the mobile title Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier, its attempt at cashing in on both the online multiplayer battle royale trend and the enduring name power of FF7. While it still has a number of Final Fantasy-centered mobile games up and running, they have yet to amass gigantic fanbases the way the mainline games have—and until they do, it's likely that a lot of these projects will unfortunately be short-lived.

Twitter article posted by 【公式】Engage Kill（エンゲージ・キル）

The Shutdown of Engage Kill

Engage Kill is the Japanese mobile game part of Project Engage, a mixed-media property created by Japanese entertainment company Aniplex. The turn-based RPG, which officially launched in early 2023, follows the gacha style now common in Japanese-made games, in which players acquire loot boxes to try and get items, characters, weapons, and the like. Alongside the game developed by Square Enix is an anime series titled Engage Kiss, which also has a manga adaptation.

Square Enix made the sudden announcement about Engage Kill on the game's official website, declaring that it will ultimately shut down the servers March 21, 2024, less than a year after its official launch. Sales of its in-game currency Orgonium have also been suspended as of December 27. In its message, the company cited that it has found it 'difficult to provide services' that will satisfy its customers in the future, while also apologizing for the abrupt decision.

The move to shut down Engage Kill has left fans and players disappointed, with many expressing their frustration and sadness over the sudden end of the game. The closure of Engage Kill also raises questions about the sustainability of gacha-style games and the challenges faced by developers in meeting player expectations and revenue targets.

The Shuttering of Full Metal Alchemist Mobile

In addition to Engage Kill, Square Enix also announced the upcoming shuttering of Full Metal Alchemist Mobile, which is scheduled to close on March 29, 2024. For that, the publisher noted that it could no longer maintain the team needed to keep the game going and acknowledged that fans eventually became unhappy about the game experience despite it launching to positive reviews. In sum, it has not been a good past couple of years for Square Enix's mobile offerings, with multiple shutdowns having happened across different IPs.

The announcement of the shutdown of Full Metal Alchemist Mobile has also sparked discussions about the challenges faced by game developers in maintaining the longevity of mobile games, especially in the face of evolving player preferences and market dynamics. The closure of Full Metal Alchemist Mobile serves as a reminder of the competitive and rapidly changing nature of the mobile gaming industry, where success is not guaranteed and sustainability is a constant concern.