Moving forward, the publisher’s strategy is changing.
Electronic Arts has halted production on two mobile projects. Apex Legends Mobile is being phased out, while Battlefield Mobile development is coming to a stop.
The publisher described this as a “strategic decision” in an update made today. In the case of Apex Legends Mobile, EA claims that, despite a successful start, the “ongoing experience was not going to satisfy the expectations” of players, and a joint agreement was taken to discontinue the mobile game. Apex Mobile was created in collaboration with Tencent subsidiary Lightspeed Studios.
Battlefield Mobile, on the other hand, was still in the works. The decision was made to change course from the existing path in order to “better deliver” on EA’s ambition for the Battlefield series.
“We remain deeply dedicated to realizing Battlefield’s great potential,” the company said today in a statement. “We’re hard at work on improving Battlefield 2042, and our future Battlefield experiences are in pre-production at our facilities throughout the world.”
Industrial Toys, the studio working on Battlefield Mobile, is also closing down as part of the game’s development.
Legends continue to respawn, and EA has provided a FAQ on how Apex Legends Mobile will be phased away. Beginning now, Apex Mobile will be available for 90 days before it is taken down. All real money in-app purchases will be disabled as of January 31, or today, and Apex will exit mobile webstores.
During this time, gamers can use any remaining Syndicate Gold to keep playing the game. Then, on May 1, 2023, all operations will cease and the game will be rendered inoperable. Real-money purchases will not be refunded. EA also states that this does not effect Apex Legends, which is separate from the mobile offering.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson did leave the door open for future attempts on today’s quarterly call. “We learnt a lot [from Apex Legends Mobile] and hope to reinvent a connected Apex Mobile experience in the future,” Wilson said (via IGN). However, it appears like EA’s mobile FPS ambitions have been placed on hold for the time being.
