Final Fantasy 7 The First Soldier Shutting Down In January

Square Enix's aggressive expansion of Final Fantasy VII has taken a sudden blow, as the company has announced that the mobile battle royale Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier will be discontinued in early 2023.

The game will shut down on January 11, which is 14 months after the game's November 17, 2021 launch. Square Enix says they will continue to support the game with new updates until the January discontinuation date.

A message from Square Enix cites issues with the game's quality as the main reason behind the sudden shutdown. The sale of the game's premium Shinra Credits currency has been immediately halted, though players who have credits can still use them as they please.

"Despite all our efforts to bring you regular updates with fresh and exciting content, we haven't been able to deliver the experience that we were hoping to," the message reads, "so we have made the extremely tough decision to end service for Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier."

Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier is a mobile battle royale where up to 75 players descend into a map based on Midgar from Final Fantasy Remake. The game blended melee combat with long-range gunplay, while also infusing Final Fantasy elements including summons, Materia magic, and more.

Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier will remain available for free on iOS and Android devices until January.