by EA announced the cancellation of Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile, as well as the closure of developer Industrial Toys, which was working on the latter game.
News of the cancellations came alongside EA’s latest financial results, with the publisher saying it had chosen to end development on Apex Legends Mobile – which launched last May – because “the ongoing experience is n was not going to meet the expectations of our players”.
A separate statement from Apex Legends studio Respawn Entertainment shed some more light on the concerns surrounding the game’s development, saying, “We aim to provide players with games that are consistently exceptional. After a strong start, the pipeline of content for Apex Legends Mobile has started to fall below that bar in quality, quantity, and cadence.”
“It is for this reason,” the statement continued, “after months of working with our development partner [PUBG Mobile developer Lightspeed and Quantum Studios]that we have made a mutual decision to discontinue our mobile game.”
As a result, Apex Legends Mobile will officially shut down on May 1 this year. However, the game will be removed from storefronts and all real-money in-app purchases will be disabled starting today. Unlike today’s Rumbleverse shutdown announcement, EA will not refund any real-money purchases made by players, citing the terms of its user agreement.
Regarding EA’s decision to end development of Battlefield Mobile, the publisher explained, “As the industry has evolved and our strategy to create a deeply connected Battlefield ecosystem has taken shape, we have decided to move away from the current direction to better realize our vision for the franchise and meet the expectations of our players.”
News of Battlefield Mobile’s cancellation has been accompanied by confirmation that its developer, Industrial Toys – which was acquired by EA in 2018 – will shut down. Industrial Toys was founded by Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian in 2012 and made a number of mobile-focused shooters, including Midnight Star, before the EA purchase. The studio was revealed to be working on Battlefield Mobile in 2022. EA has yet to say how many employees will lose their jobs as a result of its decision to shut down Industrial Toys.
