Welcome dear readers, to another edition of Emmen Weekly.
Barely one month into 2023, we are already faced with shocking news of publishers cancelling multiple live service games.
This week, we will be looking at some of the impacted games and why they were possibly terminated.
EA Shuts Down Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile
On January 31 Electronic Arts (EA) announced cancellation of Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile.
Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, stated that Apex Legends Mobile “was a really good game built by really good teams” and acknowledged that “it won Game of the Year on both Apple and Android devices, which is an extraordinary achievement given the number of games that are made.”
However, the mobile version failed to create a level of “immersion” and “complexity,” which is a big part of Apex Legends on consoles and PC, but doesn’t translate well to mobile devices.
A report by Niko Partners shows that Apex Legends Mobile struggled to maintain a larger share of the player base in Asia and the MENA regions compared to other mobile games in the same genre, such as Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG Mobile, and Free Fire, among others.
Battlefield Mobile was also cancelled before its release. Wilson stated that it would also “run into similar challenges as Apex Legends Mobile.”
“We’ve also made the decision to stop the development of the current Battlefield mobile title. As the industry has evolved and our strategy to create a deeply connected Battlefield ecosystem has taken shape, we decided to pivot from the current direction to best deliver on our vision for the franchise and to meet the expectations of our players.”
Only time will tell what EA has in store for the future mobile versions of these two titles. Perhaps a reimagined version of Apex Legends and Battlefield with a shared ecosystem with the PC and console counterparts is a possibility in the future.
More Live Service Cancellations!
Game Director Jeremy Russo shared on a blogpost that Knockout City will shut down on June 6th of this year and will no longer be playable.
With the announcement of the final season of the game, Jeremy Russo shared that while the game may not be playable in its current state, they are working on a private server for PC so the game can live on forever.
This came as a surprise to many players, as at the time of launch, almost two years ago, Knockout City was one of the biggest live service launches of the year, with over five million players.
Starting February 28th, players will not be able to purchase any in-game items using real-world money, but the developers are promising a final, “jam-packed” Season 9 for players to send off the game.
Iron Galaxy Studios and Epic Games have decided to terminate Rumbleverse by the end of the month. The melee-based battle royale was launched in August of last year and in just less than seven months, the publishers are announcing its sunset by the end of February.
Players who have spent money on in-game purchases are eligible for a refund via the official FAQ page. The game has closed off its in-game store and have started offering the cosmetic items and emotes free to all the players.
Sony Announces PlayStation Collection Removal
Sony has announced the ending of the PlayStation Collection for PlayStation 5 on May 9th, 2023.
Players will be able to access the titles offered by the service until that date, and the games will be available to those who redeemed them during this period.
This service was exclusive to PlayStation 5 owners since 2020, following is a list of games that will be removed from the service after the period.
PlayStation Worldwide Studios:
- Bloodborne
- Days Gone
- Detroit: Become Human
- God of War
- Infamous Second Son
- Ratchet and Clank
- The Last Guardian
- The Last of Us Remastered
- Until Dawn
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Third-party games:
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Battlefield 1
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Edition
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
- Fallout 4
- Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition
- Monster Hunter: World
- Mortal Kombat X
- Resident Evil 7 biohazard
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