If you ask me to look back at 2025 and what my feelings are, it’s hard to label the year with a single emotion. From one angle, it was ambitious, packed with announcements, experiments, and big names stepping further into mobile. From another, it felt exhausting. Not because mobile gaming lacked releases, but because too many of them failed to live up to what they promised.
There is no denying that mobile gaming continues to grow at a pace few industries can match. New IPs, console-quality visuals hitting the small screens, and more games that screamed “very ambitious” dominated announcements. But alongside that progress came moments where expectations were not met, projects were quietly shelved, or games disappeared before they ever had a fair shot.
As the year wrapped up, here are the biggest mobile gaming disappointments of 2025, a coverage of covering “what went wrong” scenarios from the year.
Farewell to Mobile Games: A few quick flop-hards, a few with history
If there is one section that unfortunately feels mandatory every year, it’s this one. I mean, I got no other choice here, mobile games shutting down their services is always a huge disappointment, no matter how good or bad the game may have been. After all, it marks the end of a dream journey that developers poured their time, passion, and effort into.
Mobile game shutdowns were relentless in 2025, and what made them sting even more was how many of these titles were either tied to massive IPs or had launched not too long ago. I discussed this in my Year In Review article as well.
The list of shutdowns is pretty long, and a few notable ones: Gameloft‘s Asphalt Nitro, Zynga’s Star Wars: Hunters, Eversoul, Atelier Resleriana, Soul Tide, Assault Lily Last Bullet W, Guitar Girl, Black Clover M: Rise of the Wizard King, Ragnarok: Monster World, DanMachi BATTLE CHRONICLE, King Arthur: Legends Rise, Tower of God: Great Journey, Gran Saga, and My Hero Academia: The Strongest, yes, quite a list with some big IPs in the mix.
For me, at least, I get to hold on to a few memories since I played many of these games on my own devices, thanks to their global or regional launches. Sadly, some titles never even made it beyond the countries where they were tested. Tokyo Revengers: Last Mission, Ride Kamens, and Re:ZERO – Witch’s re:surrection died in Japan, while Digimon: Source Code couldn’t make it out of China.
Even more painful were titles that barely had time to breathe, and couldn’t survive even for a year. Tencent Games‘ Tarisland was one big flop, couldn’t survive 2025 and mainly lost by failing to back up its hype. TRIBE NINE, despite its stylish presentation and anime backing, announced its shutdown just months after release.
Few took hits because of reasons out of their control. Goddess Order, a game many were excited about, entered indefinite maintenance barely a month after launch and then shut down after the developer went bankrupt. Black Beacon, a beautiful game with some eye-catching visuals, fell victim to operational difficulties.
There were some big names included, too, which were popular among the audiences for a very long time. Square Enix alone ended four games: Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition, War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS in Japan.
As for Warcraft Rumble, Blizzard Entertainment didn’t shut the game down outright, but ending major content updates effectively placed it into maintenance mode. It is a disappointing story because this came after nine years of development, and a release live for around two years.
Then came The Sims Mobile, a game many players assumed would simply keep going forever. Electronic Arts also confirmed its shutdown, closing the door on one of mobile’s most recognizable life sims after a seven-year run.
EA had one more disappointment in store toward the end of 2025, when Real Racing 3 announced its sunset after an impressive 12-year run, an announcement that truly felt like the end of an era. With mobile racing already struggling to maintain variety and quality, losing one of its most respected titles left a noticeable gap.
When the hype before their launches flatlined
Well, this section kind of includes both the shutdowns and my personal section of mobile gaming hypes that went dead. I genuinely walked into 2025 expecting a stacked year with exciting releases and long-term bets finally paying off. Instead, I watched anticipation slowly drain away, because the titles I was so curious to explore gave up on me.
The first was Supercell’s most colourful crossover experiment. Well, even though this was a 2024 release and for a title that was supposed to be big this year, it never truly found its footing. Squad Busters opened with great reviews, blending characters from across the Supercell universe into a chaotic, fun action experience. Everything seemed positive, and for a moment, it felt like Supercell had another long-term hit on its hands.
That momentum didn’t last. Despite the ambitious Heroes update and a controversial “2.0” direction shift, which always felt like the wrong idea because of how distant it would move from the core that the players loved, the game failed to meet Supercell’s internal long-term quality bar. What followed was the eventual shutdown announcement, falling into a category that no game wants to be in. But hey, we got some freebies at the end, at least!
The next game is surely one of the biggest flops in the last two years. I kind of hate to write it this way, but yeah, facts for sure. Few mobile games have generated hype on the scale of COD Warzone Mobile. With over 80 million pre-registrations, this was supposed to be the definitive console-grade battle royale on mobile, but was it? Not even close. Instead, it became one of the biggest missed opportunities in mobile gaming.
Poor optimisation, severe heating issues, inconsistent performance even on flagship devices, and a lack of meaningful post-launch support summed up everything that was wrong with this game. I felt this was the year for them; they would do something better with what they have, but yeah, they failed. Within a year, the game was delisted from app stores, didn’t even make good money, quietly conceding defeat, while Call of Duty Mobile is still dominant.
I was genuinely excited when Dark and Darker Mobile entered soft launch. The extraction-based dungeon crawling, strong atmosphere, and premium presentation made it feel different from the usual mobile RPG crowd. That excitement faded quickly. The loss of the Dark and Darker IP license and the rebrand to Abyss of Dungeons stripped away much of the identity that initially fueled the hype.
Slow, weighty gameplay further limited its appeal on mobile, and without the IP backing to carry interest forward, the game struggled to build momentum. With the shutdown on January 20, 2026, it ultimately stands as another promising concept that even KRAFTON couldn’t save, and failed survive long enough to find its audience.
Age of Empires Mobile didn’t shut down (yet), but its 2025 trajectory still felt disappointing. I was unhappy last year, and I was unhappy this year too. Built as a mobile-first 4X strategy game, it leaned heavily into timers, progression systems, and long-term resource loops, choices that made sense on mobile, but clearly diverged from the franchise’s RTS roots.
The surprise announcement of its PC release only amplified this thought. The game itself wasn’t a failure, but the hype surrounding what it represented slowly collapsed, maybe because expectations were sky high.
This one hurts the most, because I love it.
When mo.co first appeared in beta back in 2023, it felt special. The monster-hunting concept, playful presentation, co-op focus, and polished combat instantly set it apart from Supercell’s usual formula. It was fun, fresh, and full of promise. You can read how excited I was while typing down this game’s first impression.
Yes, the development was slow, but I always felt that 2025 was supposed to be its year. Open beta arrived, invite restrictions were lifted, and global access followed. But the momentum never came. Imagine how bad the situation must be that the makers themselves had to publicly clarify that mo.co wasn’t following the Squad Busters path. The confirmed “neo mo.co” revamp for 2026 keeps hope alive, but this year, it was undeniably disappointing.
The disappointing end to studios and dreams
Game shutdowns are tough, but studio closures hurt differently. When a studio disappears, it’s not just a project that ends, there are job losses, the passionate ideas these studios had die, and years of shared belief that vanish overnight. In 2025, we saw several teams reach that point, and that was definitely disappointing.
Boss Fight Entertainment was one of those quiet losses. Built by veterans from Zynga Dallas and Ensemble Studios, the team spent over a decade carving out its place before being a part of Netflix’s gaming push in 2022. Just three years later, Netflix pulled the plug.
At Electronic Arts, the shutdown of Cliffhanger Games was a big hit. The studio was created for one purpose: to build a Black Panther game. When the project was cancelled, the studio went with it. Echtra Games faced a similar fate. Acquired by Zynga to work on a new RPG, the Torchlight III developer was closed under the same reason EA had: restructuring.
Not every closure came from boardrooms. Cobra Mobile, a 20-year-old studio, shut down after a mix of personal loss, unpaid debts, and a market downturn that left no room to recover. Then there was Sandsoft Games, once positioned as a rising force in mobile publishing with global ambitions. It seems like its Saudi owners decided to pull the plug, and it ended, just like that.
Fantastic Pixel Castle also had a painful story. Built on the idea of staying small and creative, the team behind the MMORPG Ghost had to shut down after parting ways with NetEase. Apart from these, studios like Midnight Society, Studio Fizbin, Phoenix Labs, and Mountaintop were forced to shut down or drastically scale back.
Unlike games, studios don’t get relaunches or second chances easily. Once a team is gone, the creative identity behind it disappears too. Assembling them is a hassle indeed, as the team would have moved to new projects by then. 2025 made it painfully clear that even strong talent and solid ideas are no longer enough if they don’t align perfectly with business expectations, but let us be honest, we make products so that we can earn.
The story of Layoffs: Few, but still more
Of course, industry-wide layoffs and restructuring continued in 2025, and it remained one of the hardest things to watch unfold. For every studio I mentioned above, there were workforce cutdowns, and sadly, the trend that began during the COVID time period has continued affecting people in the gaming industry.
What made this year especially rough was how often the same teams were hit more than once. Microsoft’s gaming division alone cut thousands of roles across 2024 and 2025, with another major wave in July that impacted Turn 10 Studios (around 70 roles), ZeniMax Online (over 160 staff), Blizzard Entertainment (roughly 100), and even smaller teams like The Initiative, which was shut down entirely.
At Electronic Arts, multiple rounds of layoffs across the year affected Respawn, BioWare, Cliffhanger Games, and central publishing teams, leaving projects paused or quietly cancelled, while there were multiple reports of staff being asked to push the use of AI.
Mobile teams felt this instability even more sharply. Companies like Playtika (around 160 cuts), Machine Zone (nearly 100 across two rounds), Niantic (close to 70 roles), SEGA-owned Rovio, Wooga (50 roles), Moon Active, and Netmarble reduced staff while still operating live games.
At King, the layoffs went beyond job losses and turned into a trust issue. Around 200 employees were cut in July, and several staff members reportedly sought legal advice over severance packages they felt were unfair. Morale dropped further as Microsoft’s push for mandatory AI usage added pressure across teams, with some laid-off staff feeling they were being replaced by AI tools they helped build.
As I went through reports, layoff trackers, and developer stories throughout the year, I did see a few improvements compared to last year, but yes, the numbers are still bad. From what I’ve read, figures shared by GamesIndustry.biz and data compiled point to around 9,175 layoffs in 2025. That’s lower than the peak in 2024, but still much higher than what we used to see before the crisis years.
New year, new start, and we look ahead
As this chapter closes, it feels right to pause, breathe, and then move on. 2025 had its highs, but it also carried its share of weight, and some of that is better left behind. What matters now is taking those lessons forward without letting them dictate what comes next for us.
2026 feels like a reset in many ways. A chance to rebuild with clearer priorities, stronger ideas, and maybe a little more care for the people who keep this industry alive. There’s still plenty to look forward to: new games, new events, and hopefully a healthier pace of progress.
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