Why Would We Ever Play A Square Enix Mobile Game?

Square Enix’s history in the mobile game market is long and full of interesting stories, wonderful art, and dozens of games by industry legends that broke into a new medium of gaming. Unfortunately, none of that matters, as the company is seemingly incapable of supporting these games in the long term; every other month, the news cycle is filled with announcements that another Square Enix mobile title is having its servers shut down.

Over the past 10 years, Square Enix has released 48 original mobile games (alongside ports of its console games, such as the SNES Final Fantasy titles). Of those mobile games, 38 have had their servers closed. That number would only grow larger if I were willing to go back further to include games developed for slightly older Android and IOS devices.

If simple two digit numbers aren’t enough to sell you on how ridiculous that is, here is a list of every Square Enix mobile game that has been shut down within the past decade as well as how long its lifespan actually was. Each of these names represents months to years of human effort and art that has been erased

If you are playing a Square Enix mobile game, there is a 79.17% chance that it will shut down within three years. That percentage would likely be higher if not for me generously counting the recently released Dissidia Duellum: Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest Smash/Grow, both of which are only a few months old.

So why on earth would I ever, ever want to spend money on one of these games? Why would I log into one of these titles daily if there isn’t even a guarantee that they’ll finish telling their stories? Who cares if an industry veteran like Yasuo Kamanaka or Tetsuya Nomura works on one of these titles if all of their work can just vanish into thin air one day?

I am someone who has put money into various gacha games in the past. I’m sure that spending money on Saint Quartz in Fate/Grand Order and scout tickets in Umamusume: Pretty Derby makes me part of a problem plaguing the industry, but at least I can feel safe in my GSSR purchases there. At least those games don’t have the lifespan of fruit flies, and I can trust that whatever I get in them will still be around in a few months.

Square Enix’s willingness to shut down its mobile game servers has led to what I consider one of the most embarrassing story decisions that I have seen in an AAA RPG in years: Glenn Lodbrok and his role in the Final Fantasy VII: Remake trilogy.

Glenn Lodbrok is a character who made his debut in the 2021 mobile battle-royale game Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. Here he was simply a SOLDIER working for Shinra; he didn’t seem to be a character worth paying attention to. That all changed when he appeared in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth as an ominous ghostly figure who seemed to be mocking Rufus Shinra from the grave. This moment raised interest in the character worldwide.

Square Enix has always been happy and willing to make players look at media outside of their games in order to know the full story and character details. Whether that be asking Nier Automata players to go watch a stage play or having Kingdom Hearts fans play through a mobile game, it’s not unexpected for a Square RPG to have a character from one medium appear in another. Glenn’s appearance in Rebirth is just another bullet point in a list of times Square Enix has asked players to look at a spinoff to get the full story.

Or at least, that was likely the plan. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth was released in February 2024. Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier had its servers shut down in January 2023, less than two years after the mobile game was released and nearly a year before Rebirth hit store shelves. Glenn Lodbrok’s appearance in this game had been transformed from a cameo directing players to the mobile game into a reference to a story that was never finished, and players could never even play if they wanted to.

There seemed to be some hope for Glenn Lodbrok, though, as right before Rebirth released, Square Enix also launched another Final Fantasy VII mobile game: Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, a gacha RPG that would adapt not just the plot of Final Fantasy VII, but also its many spinoffs from over the years.

Ever Crisis was released in September of 2023, between the closure of The First Soldier and the release of Rebirth. While the game would take a while to get there, it would begin adapting the story of The First Soldier in October 2025. This would finally give players curious about who the heck Glenn Lodbrok is a method of actually learning firsthand.

On July 9, 2026, Square Enix announced that Ever Crisis would have its servers closed in October 2026.

When Final Fantasy VII: Revelation releases next year and Glenn Lodbrok appears on screen, anyone who hasn’t played either of his games will have no method of learning who he is aside from wiki articles. Having a character who exists to push players toward a mobile game, only for said mobile game to shut down before the game actually releases, not once but TWICE, is embarrassing and should be unacceptable.

The only silver lining with Square Enix’s mobile game output is that recently they have been more willing than others to begin preserving some of their mobile games. I have spoken in-depth in the past about how bleak the current state of game preservation is, and how Square Enix in particular has been leading the pack with a new method of making sure these stories last.

At the time of writing that previous piece, Octopath Traveler 0 was the only real example I had of a gacha game being transformed into an actual game. Within the past year, it has been joined by Koei Tecmo’s Blue Reflection: Quartet (Which will include the plot of Blue Reflection: Sun) and Square Enix’s own Final Fantasy: Resonance, which is a console adaptation of the closed mobile game Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius.

While I am very glad that some mobile games are having their plots preserved in this fashion, it doesn’t mean my trust in Square Enix is repaired. When every one of their games shuts down within a few years, I have no reason to trust that they’ll actually support a new release beyond the launch sales boom.

I don’t even expect this to lead to a second, no, third life for Glenn Lodbrok. Ever Crisis, being an adaptation of Final FantasyVII, basically makes an offline release of it like Octopath Traveler 0 pointless, as anyone wanting to play a non-gacha version of Final Fantasy VII already has two different ways of doing that. It’s all just so pointless.

Skeith Ruch

Staff Writer

3+ years of professional gaming journalism | 20+ years gaming experience

Skeith Ruch is a Staff Writer for Raider King, bringing over two decades of gaming experience to their coverage. Based in Pennsylvania, USA, Skeith specializes in rapid-turnaround game analysis, delivering timely guides and reviews across multiple gaming genres. Known for completing games at exceptional speeds, Skeith provides early coverage and comprehensive walkthroughs that help players navigate new releases quickly and effectively.

Credentials: Writer at Raider King (2023-Present) | Former Writer at Hardcore Gamer | Former Feature Writer at The Story Arc | 20+ years of gaming across all major platforms | Specialist in action-adventure, RPGs, and indie titles

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