10 Popular Gacha Games That Got Shut Down

Despite gacha games often existing merely to pull cash from players, some have established fanbases.

Gacha games don’t have the best reputation in the gaming hemisphere. Critics often dismiss them as flash-in-the-pan cash grabs developed and designed to squeeze as much money out of casual video game players as possible, like most mobile games. However, some managed to strike an accord with gamers, becoming greater than the sum of their parts and earning loyal and dedicated fanbases.

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Unfortunately, some of those games are gone now. Developers pay a steep price to keep gacha servers running 24/7, especially as the game grows in player numbers, and sometimes the income can’t justify the costs. Just like all good things, gacha games, too, must come to an end someday, but at least they gave the gaming community a good time while they lasted.

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10

Valkyrie Crusade Had A Cast Full Of Well-Designed Waifus

Set in a world loosely inspired by myths and legends, Valkyrie Crusade was a cult classic gacha game with over three thousand playable characters, each beautifully illustrated by a well-known name in the anime art industry. The game tasks the player with summoning stronger cards and raising their power to fight and defeat Archwitches; it’s a classic good vs. evil storyline in a fantasy world.

Valkyrie Crusade ultimately fell into the trap that most, if not all, gachas fall into powercreep. As power levels for the enemies increased, free-to-play players were left in the dust, with only the whales left to keep the game afloat. Service officially ended on May 30, 2021.

9

Kingdom Hearts Union X Was Too Divisive To Stick Around For Long

Kingdom Hearts Union X launched in 2015 on mobile, serving as the remake and sequel to Kingdom Hearts X shortly before the latter’s service ended in 2016. It went through a few rebrands over the years before settling on Kingdom Hearts Union X Dark Road, which tells the story of a younger Xehanort as a Keyblade apprentice and seeker of darkness.

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Over time, the game grew infamous for its unchecked powercreep, which pushed most of its player base away to the point where a handful of former players celebrated its downfall. As of now, Dark Road is still available as an offline Theater Mode. Service ended on June 17, 2021, for Japan and on June 30 worldwide.

8

Puzzle And Dragons Can’t Be Played Anymore In Europe And China

When it comes to classic gachas, Puzzle and Dragons is one of the most popular in existence. Developed by GungHo, Puzzle and Dragons is as “mobile” as mobile games come, with a match-three style of gameplay in a similar vein to Bejeweled or Candy Crush. Featuring thousands of creatures to unlock, the game’s main objective is to collect them all and overcome a myriad of deadly challenges.

The game is alive and well in the U.S. and Japan, but the European and Chinese servers shut down several years back, in 2018 and 2017, respectively. While there was no official reason given, fans assume that the poor reception in those areas led to its cancelation.

7

Brave Frontier Paved The Way To New Frontiers

Visual appeal is vital for a mobile game’s survival; the more distinct it looks, the better a chance it has of thriving. For its time, Brave Frontier was one of the most visually unique games in its genre. Where most gachas had a typical anime art style with high-quality renders or 3D models of their characters, Brave Frontier’s characters were presented as sprites, several years before games like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy adopted the look.

Brave Frontier was already out of the mainstream consciousness by the time it ended, but the amount of fans that appeared to mourn its departure shows that it left a massive impression on many older gacha fans. Service ended on April 22, 2022.

6

Magia Record’s Termination Left Its Players Apathetic

As the newest addition to the Puella Magi Madoka Magica franchise, Magia Record had big expectations to meet. The story follows a newcomer magical named Iroha Tamaki, who ventures to Kamihama City to find answers regarding the mysterious disappearance of her younger sister. Iroha’s adventure takes her throughout the city, outwitting and combating monsters called “uwasa” and a rival band of magical girls named Magius.

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Poor management and communication is the most common reason people give for the game’s downfall, at least in the English branch. Currently, only the English server is the only out of service, but there is an anime adaptation of the first arc for anyone interested in the game’s plot.

5

Tales Of Luminaria Around For A Good Time, Not A Long Time

To coincide with the announcement of Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco also announced Tales of Luminaria for mobile devices. What made the game’s story special is that it follows the perspectives of 21 characters, delving into how their paths cross and how they shape history through the bonds they make and break.

With characters rendered in gorgeous 3D models placed in detailed and sprawling environments, Tales of Luminaria looked like many modern high-budget gacha games; it looked promising, to say the least. However, the game wouldn’t even last a year, releasing in November 2021 and ending service on July 19, 2022.

4

Monster Strike Is Lost To North America and South Korea

A competitor in the “monster collector” subgenre of gacha games, Monster Strike asks the player to collect, fuse, evolve, and battle a plethora of unique monsters ranging from cute to terrifying. The game is often compared to Puzzle and Dragons, which has a similar concept, but the two couldn’t be further apart in terms of gameplay. Monster Strike’s combat system involves flicking monsters into their teammates, creating reactions that damage enemies in a way that resembles billiards.

Monster Strike is absurdly popular in Japan, to the point of receiving multiple anime adaptations. However, the English and South Korean servers are long gone, ending service in 2017 and 2016, respectively.

3

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Is Japan-Exclusive Now

The Final Fantasy franchise has developed and released many mobile games over the years. Final Fantasy Record Keeper is just one of them, following a young researcher named Tyro who enters painting to view the memories of different worlds, which turn out to be the world from previous titles. As a game made primarily to experience the series’s past, Final Fantasy Record Keeper was like a love letter to long-time fans and newcomers alike.

While the game is still around in Japan, global servers closed in September last year. Some players blame feature creep for the server’s collapse, possibly by overwhelming players and ultimately disincentivizing them to play and, by extension, spend more.

2

Phantom Of The Kill Walked So Fire Emblem Heroes Could Run

In Phantom of the Kill, a sword-wielding hero fights tactical turn-based battles on a grid, recruiting powerful allies in their journey to save the world. That premise would sound familiar to anyone who’s ever played a Fire Emblem game before, as that’s been their go-to premise since the 90s. Phantom of the Kill’s gameplay is staggeringly similar to Fire Emblem’s, leading many critics to compare the two as a form of praise.

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The game enjoyed a decent two years of service overseas before being promptly shut down in 2018, a year after the release of Fire Emblem Heroes. Whether the latter caused the death of the former’s global presence, who’s to say?

1

Dragalia Lost Was Too Generous For Its Own Good

When Nintendo chose to dip its toes into the gacha sphere, it collaborated with Cygames to develop Dragalia Lost, adding it to the same universe as their prior games like Shingeki no Bahamut, Granblue Fantasy, and Shadowverse. The game had a solid start, with three-hundred thousand registrations in Japan alone. Thanks to its fantastic soundtrack and beautiful visuals, it continued to grow through word of mouth; it even won the award for “Portable Game of the Year.”

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last, as the game was discontinued in November of last year. One of the most prevalent theories was that because Dragalia Lost wasn’t as greedy as its competition, it eventually started to receive diminishing returns.

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