Apex Legends Mobile is officially being sunsetted by developer Respawn Entertainment, just short of a year since its worldwide launch. The decision has been described as ‘painful’ and one that hasn’t ‘come with ease’ – but regardless, a firm shut down will take place on 1 May 2023 at 4:00 pm PDT. Following this sunsetting, the game will no longer be playable.
‘We have made the painful decision to sunset Apex Legends Mobile,’ Respawn announced on Twitter. ‘This decision does not come with ease. Factors beyond our control have prevented us from maintaining the high-quality experience and content that our players deserve.’
‘As a result, the game will sunset on May 1, 2023 at 4pm PDT after which it will no longer be playable. Our gratitude to our players and teams for joining us on Apex Legends Mobile, even if for a short while, is unending. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.’
Read: Apex Legends Mobile devs discuss surprising community response
In an FAQ blog post, Respawn spoke more of this decision – and referenced a drop in quality content for the game, that subsequently began falling short of publisher expectations.
‘Following a strong start, the content pipeline for Apex Legends Mobile has begun to fall short of that bar for quality, quantity, and cadence. It is for this reason, after months of working with our development partner, that we have made the mutual decision to sunset our mobile game,’ Respawn said. ‘Although disappointing, we are proud of the game we launched, are grateful for the support of the Apex Legends community, and are confident that this is the right decision for players.’
It is not clear if this quality drop was a result of communication challenges, changing priorities at Respawn and EA, or other factors that couldn’t be controlled.
Whatever the case, the move comes as a major surprise, given the support the game had from its passionate community, and the overall high quality bar of the experience. Many players have expressed disappointment on Twitter, likening the decision to a bad break-up.
In its short tenure, Apex Legends Mobile garnered several major awards, including iPhone Game of the Year in the 2022 Apple App Store Awards., and best mobile game of 2022 at the Google Play Awards, and received several major award nominations – including a Game Awards 2022 shout-out for Best Mobile Game of the Year. Despite this, it appears Apex Legends Mobile is now giving up its time in the sun.
The game will be shut down on 1 May 2023, with access for all players being cut off on this date.
