Another pair of big-name mobile titles just got the axe as Nintendo and Square Enix both bail on live service experiments this fall. Mario Kart Tour ends service September 29 at 11 PM PT with purchases already halted, while Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis follows on October 6 at 11 PM PDT after roughly three years. Both announcements landed within a day of each other, part of the broader retreat from ambitious IP gachas that includes Warzone Mobile and Sony's mobile downsizing.

Mario Kart Tour raked in around $273 million lifetime from 267 million downloads at one point, yet never sustained the momentum Nintendo hoped for after its 2019 launch. Players are already begging for an offline mode or refunds on X, with the usual gacha salt about wasted rubies and Gold Pass subs. Ever Crisis hit over $100 million gross with 71% from Japan but struggled to retain a dedicated community beyond launch month peaks of $20.8 million, dropping fast thereafter.

Square Enix is at least promising final story chapters, weapon drops, and a September anniversary send-off to let whales and casuals alike finish their rosters. Nintendo offers zero such grace. Same old story: hit the milestones, bleed the whales, then ghost the servers when the math stops working. Whales gonna whale until the servers do.