Square Enix and Tencent have decided to terminate their licensing agreement for Final Fantasy XIV Mobile, ending the game’s run in mainland China on September 30. The two companies cited “adjustments in business operations and changes in the market environment” for the decision, and things are moving quickly. In-game top-ups and new player registrations were already suspended as of 3:00 AM Pacific (6:00 AM Eastern) this morning on July 17, servers go offline on September 30 in China, which works out to 8:00 PM Pacific (11:00 PM Eastern) on September 29, and the forums and dedicated customer support close on October 15. Player account data will be deleted after the shutdown in accordance with China’s Personal Information Protection Law.
Final Fantasy XIV Mobile was developed by Lightspeed Studios, the Tencent team that co-developed PUBG Mobile, and we covered its announcement back in November 2024. The plan at the time was a series of playtests in the Chinese market, followed by a global launch. That second part now looks dead, as the shutdown notice specifically apologizes to “everyone who has been looking forward to the global version.” Square Enix hasn’t used the word canceled, but it’s hard to believe it’s not.
This also makes Final Fantasy XIV Mobile the latest entry on Square Enix’s growing mobile shutdown list, joining Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis from earlier this month. The publisher has been steadily thinning out its mobile catalog, but many expected Final Fantasy XIV Mobile would at least have a chance at a global release.
Personally, I’m a little sad about the announcement. Final Fantasy XIV is one of the best games I’ve ever played and possibly my favorite of all time, and when the mobile version was announced, I said I was intrigued by the idea and excited to see how it played. It sounds like I’ll never get that chance. The MMO itself is doing just fine, though, with its next expansion, Evercold, launching in January 2027.
