Why is Apex Legends Mobile shutting down?
Earlier this week, EA announced its plans to shut down both Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile. For most players, this comes as a shock, especially after Apex Legends Mobile launched less than a year ago on May 17, 2022.
EA stated that it was forced to shut down Apex Legends Mobile due to “factors beyond [its] control” that have prevented the company from maintaining the high-quality experience and content its players deserve. Players can still play the game now, but it will officially go offline on May 1, 2023, at 4 PM PDT.
Battlefield Mobile, a shooter game that EA has developed for quite a while now, has been canceled too. It’s clear to say that Battlefield Mobile was a hot mess and nowhere near as great as Apex Legends Mobile, so the news doesn't shock most people.
EA stated that it wanted to “pivot from its current direction of the series and focus on something more appealing to the players.” In regards to what “something more appealing” means, it’s hard to say. Adding to this, EA has subsequently shut down Industrial Toys, a mobile game development company.
Despite Apex Legends Mobile being nominated for Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards and also winning Game of the Year at Apple and Google, it seems achievements aren’t enough to keep things afloat. Although there’s a lot that goes into factoring Apex Legends Mobile’s downfall, EA CEO Andrew Wilson felt that the game’s biggest problem was that it didn’t seem “deeply connected to the broader franchise.”
Apex Legends Mobile players couldn’t really properly translate their progression over to PC and console—it also seemed like playing one version of the game came with more benefits than the other. In saying so, a lot of players wanted to compete against other players across platforms too, Wilson said. This created tension and a bigger gap between the ported mobile game and the PC and console versions that seemed to weaken the franchise. In addition to this, since Apex Legends Mobile was developed externally by Tencent’s Lightspeed and Quantum, the game would have its own seasons and characters, which made some PC or console players upset—further expanding this gap.
Although this might not be the complete reason that EA decided to shut down Apex Legends Mobile, it’s apparent that it was one of them and quite a large one at that. As for Battlefield Mobile, I’m not surprised that it’s being canceled. Out of all the games that EA could’ve canceled, Battlefield Mobile was one of the more logical and sensible choices. Despite EA stating it wanted to pivot and try something new, I think most people that played the game can say Battlefield Mobile was an absolutely, down-right terrible game. From the graphics to the gameplay, interface, and controls, Battlefield Mobile was an utter disappointment, so I'm relieved that it's going.
At the end of all this, I’ll miss Apex Legends Mobile and I know a lot of other people will too. However, in the wake of this news, I think it’s proper to say goodbye. To one game that’ll be missed sorely and to another nobody will remember—goodbye and so long, Apex Legends Mobile—but good freakin’ riddance Battlefield Mobile.
Mentioned games