After multiple mobile game closures in 2025 and 2026, Final Fantasy VII and Mario Kart Tour are following suit and closing operations by the end of 2026.
In 2025, two of the longest-running mobile games closed shop, with The Sims Mobile and War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius not making it past January 2026. After both of these games closed, there was just space, and fans can no longer access either title, despite how much time or money was spent on them.
The same goes for the widely touted Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, except that cross-progression allowed fans to at least keep their progress and accomplishments on the go, so it wasn’t just space when the dust settled. History has repeated itself today, with two announcements that two more mobile games are shuttering for good. Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis and Mario Kart Tour are closing up shop, and they currently have no plans to fill the void once both games are dead. The end of service dates also fall within a week of each other, with Mario Kart Tour going offline on September 30 and Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis following shortly after on October 6.
Interestingly enough, Square Enix did actually resurrect Brave Exvius this year, and fans can play a standalone (not gatcha-based) release on console rather than mobile. Final Fantasy Resonance was Square Enix’s answer to shuttering Brave Exvius, but currently they have no officially announced plans to keep the story beats from Ever Crisis from the abyss. Admittedly, before Resonance‘s announcement, Brave Exvius was thought to be dead for good as well.
In Mario Kart Tour‘s case, fans have already begun to ask for an “offline version” of the title. On forums like Reddit, fans have blasted gatcha games for the money spent on them (specifically Mario Kart Tour), saying this is like money “thrown into a void that is just gone one day.” Last year’s Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link just closed shop without any assurance that the content would be made available after the fact.
It’s worth mentioning that Nintendo has made fans whole before regarding mobile free-to-play titles. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp closed its live service in November 2024, and in December 2024, it released a one-time $19.99 purchase version of the title that can be played and enjoyed by fans even today. While Mario Kart Tour is on the chopping block, currently 14 tracks from the title can be played on the Nintendo Switch via Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. However, the premium currency spent on mobile is seemingly “thrown into the void.”
While both Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis and Mario Kart Tour are now officially on a timer (and fans can no longer buy rubies in Mario Kart Tour), both companies do have a history of doing what’s best for fans while closing the door on mobile experiences. Hopefully that trend continues with these two titles.
