The sale of Square Enix’s western studios and brands to Embracer Group has far-reaching implications. After a studio closure, some mobile games are now also affected.
The takeover of the former Square Enix studios by the Embracer Group along with well-known brands such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex or Thief hit like a bomb and now the first damage is slowly becoming visible.
Everything about the former mobile developer Square Enix Montreal, which was renamed Onoma after the takeover and was summarily closed shortly afterwards, is particularly affected. The studio has had some very successful titles with Hitman Go, Lara Croft Go, and Deus Ex Go, but the list is getting thinner shortly.
The remnants of Onoma now announced that some games will finally die in early 2023. These include Hitman Sniper: The Shadows and also the much acclaimed Deus Ex GO.
The announcement states: “Arena Battle Champions, Deus Ex GO, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, and Space Invaders: Hidden Heroes will be shut down on January 4th. The games will be removed from the App Store/Google Play Store on December 1st and current players will be killed after January 4th will no longer have access to the games. Effective immediately, in-game purchases will be discontinued. We recommend making previous in-game purchases before January 4th as they will not be refunded.”
Access to the games will therefore no longer be possible from January 4th, even if you still have the titles on your smartphones or tablets. Bitter for those who have sunk time and money into the games.
With Deus Ex GO, Square Enix has now officially released a mobile offshoot.
