Apex Legends Mobile shutdown date announced

Apex Legends Mobile is no more, with the recent announcement from EA and Respawn Entertainment. Apex Legends Mobile will be shutting down in 2023, bringing an end to the mobile version of the popular battle royale experience. The Apex Legends Mobile shutdown comes after only being out for less than a year in total on mobile platforms.

Players only have a few more months to enjoy the mobile battle royale experience on iOS and Android platforms. After the shutdown date arrives, the servers will go permanently offline on mobile. Console and PC players shouldn’t fret, though, as this won’t affect the core Apex Legends version. This announcement is only for the worldwide Android and iOS versions.

EA announced on Twitter that Apex Legends Mobile is going offline on May 1, 2023. The exact time the servers will close will be at 4 p.m. PDT, not even a full year after its worldwide launch on May 17, 2022. For some regions, mobile players can play until May 2, 2023. Once that time comes and goes, the mobile battle royale game will shut down completely. There are no plans at this time to bring the game back or repurpose it in some way.

This leaves roughly 90 days of play left for mobile players on Android and iOS from the time of announcement until the Apex Legends Mobile shutdown using the current season. Effective immediately, though, all real-world currency purchases in the game are already offline. This means that you are unable to purchase any currency from here on out in the game. This doesn’t affect the ability to play the game or download it as of now.

The reason for Apex Legends Mobile closing is a somewhat ambiguous one. It doesn’t appear to have to do with the success of the game. In fact, EA and Respawn praised the popularity of the game worldwide in the announcement. Instead, EA cites Apex Legends Mobile falling ”short of [the] bar for quality, quantity, and cadence” that Respawn is known for.

The announcement hints that EA and Respawn alike are disappointed with what the Apex Legends Mobile developer, Tencent, for how the game was handled. It was the same team at Tencent who worked on PUBG Mobile, a fellow successful mobile battle royale game that has no end in sight. Apex Legends and Respawn Entertainment, in general, are known for their high-quality experiences.

It is possible that the major concessions in the mobile version of Respawn’s hit free-to-play battle royale were ultimately too much. The game operated on a completely different schedule than its console and PC versions, featuring some entirely different characters and a lack of fan-favorites, like receiving Crypto much later. The resolution and performance is noticeably worse, too, to make it work on various mobile devices.

For those who still regularly play Apex Legends Mobile, this announcement affects you in more than just its closure. The Apex Legends Mobile shutdown announcement also comes with news regarding sales and refunds. Players will still be able to purchase items in the shop using the already obtained currency. However, they won’t be able to purchase new currency from here on out.

Unfortunately, no refunds will be given for Apex Legends Mobile players. Even those who most recently spent money in the game won’t receive a refund. To this point, comments in the community seem to be lamenting this fact, as seen on Twitter. This is due to the terms of agreement all players agreed to upon downloading the game. All sales are final and none of the content will carry over to the PC and console versions.

It is uncertain what this means for the future of Apex Legends. EA noted that the main game is still going strong and won’t be shutting down. However, there is a fair bit of content exclusive to the mobile version. A couple of original characters, including Fade and Rhapsody, aren’t featured in the core experience yet. It remains to be seen if Respawn has plans to bring over some of the Apex Legends Mobile content.