Japanese developer Square Enix has announced that it would be shutting down the servers of its battle royale game called Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier.
Square Enix made the announcement on the official FF7TFS Twitter account. In it, the company stated that service for the game will be ending on January 11, 2023.
According to the company, the reason for this shutdown is an apparent inability to deliver the experience it was hoping for. FF7TFS has gotten some amount of updates and content since launch.
The game was first announced in 2021 and was thought by some to be Square Enix’s hat in the ring that Fortnite and PUBG operate in. It was clear that Square Enix saw the battle royale community as a potential source for players and wanted to bring them into the world of Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy 7 The First Soldier joins a long list of live service games that were released, existed for a short time, and petered out before too long. This has become a sadly common occurrence in the modern game industry.
One of the biggest consequences of the live service model of gaming can be seen in moments like this; our games don’t always belong to us anymore. In some ways, the price of the game (if it even has one) is a price to play, rather than own.
And if the owners of the game, the developer or publisher involved, pulls the plug, the game is gone. There is little the player-base can do about it.
So if you were a fan of this game or enjoyed it to any capacity, you have our condolences.
Lastly, it is worth noting that the closure of servers and ending of this game will not affect the production of the sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake, now known to be called Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. That game is currently slated for release this coming year.
Emmen Gaming 