After less than a year on the market, Square Enix has announced plans to shut down Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier. The live service mobile game attempt will go offline in early January. 

In a notice posted this morning, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier will go offline from the 11th of January 2023. The developer says that it was unable to deliver the experience it was hoping to. However, the game will still be updated during these final few months of service.

[End of Service Notice]

We are regretful to announce that we will be ending service for FINAL FANTASY VII THE FIRST SOLDIER at 07:00 UTC on January 11, 2023.

We would like to thank you all for all your support over the past year.https://t.co/XvNOVv2EVs#FF7FS pic.twitter.com/aNVI4iHle4

— FINAL FANTASY VII THE FIRST SOLDIER_EN｜FF7FS (@FFVII_FS_EN) October 12, 2022

The First Soldier was a Final Fantasy 7 spin-off set 18 years before the events of the first game. Players took on the role of a Soldier recruit carrying out missions for Shinra. The game did receive content updates during its first year, but ultimately, Square Enix has decided to not continue with development on the game.

This is the second live game that Square Enix has shut down this year. Over the summer, it was announced that PlatinumGames' live-service title, Babylon's Fall, will also be shutting down and plans for future seasonal content have been scrapped. In both cases, these shutdown announcements came less than one year after launch.

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KitGuru Says: At a certain point, Square Enix is going to have to consider the fact that it is eroding consumer trust. If its live service titles keep shutting down and swiftly losing support, then people are less likely to invest in a new title at launch. 

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