EA goes on a mobile murder spree, killing phone versions of Apex Legends and Battlefield

Development on Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile has come to a close, as EA has announced plans to end both projects.

Apex Legends Mobile will shut down at 4pm PDT on May 1, 2023, less than a year after its launch. As developer Respawn explains in a new blog post, "Following a strong start, the content pipeline for Apex Legends Mobile has begun to fall short of that bar for quality, quantity, and cadence. It is for this reason, after months of working with our development partner, that we have made the mutual decision to sunset our mobile game."

In-game purchases for Apex Legends Mobile will not be refunded, but currency will no longer be purchasable as of today, January 31. Respawn says this shutdown will not affect Apex Legends on PC or consoles, and that "as a franchise, Apex Legends is strong and we’re looking forward to sharing exciting updates in the future."

The announcement came just ahead of EA's quarterly financial results report, during which CEO Andrew Wilson hinted that a different Apex Legends mobile game may be developed in the future.

EA has also announced that it's ending development on the unreleased Battlefield Mobile, which was originally announced back in 2021. The publisher has "decided to pivot from the current direction to best deliver on our vision for the franchise and to meet the expectations of our players". The company also says it's "evolving Battlefield 2042" and is in pre-production on "future Battlefield experiences".

EA also revealed news of a six-week delay for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor today.

There are plenty of big new games for 2023 to help fill the void on both phones and consoles.