Final Fantasy gamers bid farewell as beloved RPG prepares to shutdown forever
Following up on an announcement from almost three months ago, one of Final Fantasy’s more unusual takes on the FF7 VII sub-franchise is coming to an end, and fans have been saying farewell ahead of this entry shutting down for good.
This particular free-to-play RPG came out first on mobile nearly three years ago, back in September 2023, but a Steam release soon followed in December that year.
Still, despite hitting 7.77 million downloads by February 2024 alone — previously confirmed by the Final Fantasy Portal Site — and the hype for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Revelation going strong, the end is just one day away. Although, whilst some players are said to see this title go, others have expressed frustration at publisher Square Enix, too.
It's almost the end of Ever Crisis
After three years of events, updates, and plenty of gacha pulls, Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis will shut down its servers on October 6, 2026, at 11:00pm PDT, meaning the game will then be completely unplayable.
A specific reason for shutting Ever Crisis down still hasn't been given, but back on July 8, Square Enix shared the announcement, saying: “We regret to inform you that we will be ending service for Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis on Oct. 6, 2026, at 11:00 PM PDT.”
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"We understand that this news may be disappointing, and we sincerely apologise for the abrupt nature of this announcement.
"Since the launch of the App Store and Google Play versions on Sep. 7, 2023, and the Steam version on Dec. 6, 2023, we have worked to provide the best possible experience for our players. After careful consideration, however, we have determined that it will be difficult to continue doing so and have made the decision to end service.”
That said, it's easy to believe the game's less-than-stellar reception could be a factor. Even after numerous updates since its mixed reviews, Ever Crisis still only has a score of 66 on Metacritic (plus a 4.9/10 user score), with a roughly 59 percent rating on Steam.
The mobile versions are still rated with at least four out of five stars across the Google Play Store and iPhone App Store, but as pointed out by ComicBook, mobile games are usually ranked highly, so should always be taken with a pinch of salt.
Whilst Ever Crisis has already been delisted, any player who still has the game installed can play until the servers go out.
Despite being a free-to-play gacha title that didn't critically set the world on fire, Ever Crisis’ big selling point was that it actually expanded on Final Fantasy VII’s larger story — with exclusive lore that couldn’t be found anywhere else via stories including Glenn, Matt, and Lucia, along with exploring more of Sephiroth’s past.
With that, the fast-approaching shutdown has been especially disappointing for fans. Since no offline version has been announced, that special story content is set to disappear along with the game itself.
Final thoughts on Ever Crisis are split amongst fans
Ever since the announcement, players have been using the past months to both express their love for the game and ask Square Enix to preserve it in at least some way.
Replying to the original news on X (formerly Twitter), one Japanese fan wrote: “For me, Ever Crisis is what made me love Final Fantasy. It's so disappointing that it was only for a short time, but thank you very much. It was one of my daily fun routines, and there was joy with my guildmates, too. I'd be thrilled if you could create a new game in a different form.”
A second pleaded: “Please, I'd like the offline version”
Another added: “It's so sad!”
“There were a lot of rough parts, but the fact that it was fun doesn't change, so I'm honestly disappointed. ”
Meanwhile, in a separate sharing of the news by Genki, others in the comments were quick to share dissatisfaction that yet another live-service game by Square Enix has met its end — following the likes of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, and Marvel's Avengers.
One fan said: “Never trust a Square Enix live-service game. They never even did the Before Crisis stuff, which is the entire reason I was interested in this.”
Another honed in on the exclusive lore, saying: “I dislike this. Bad enough they made it a gacha in the first place, then they threw First Soldier lore in, and it's the ONLY game that features it.
“Now people will have no first-hand way to figure out who this weird Glenn character is who keeps showing up in [FF7 Revelation]. Make [an] offline [version].”
As a devil’s advocate who says they were pleased with their time with Ever Crisis, a different fan said: “At least they’re wrapping up the main story and throwing in Before Crisis as a sweetener. I’ve been playing the game since launch and thoroughly enjoyed myself without spending a penny. As an aperitif for the end of the Remake saga, I’d say it’s done its job.”
Topics: Final Fantasy, Square Enix, Free Games, Mobile Games