Live-service mobile games are built on a simple promise: constant updates, evolving content, and a long-term experience that players can invest in. But, unfortunately, not all of them deliver. Some lean too much into monetization, fail to deliver meaningful updates, or just announce sudden shutdowns. These games end up losing the very communities they were meant to support. With that in mind, the following mobile games started with potential, but somewhere along the way, they strayed away from their original goal and left their players disappointed.
15. Apex Legends Mobile
Initially praised for adapting the core battle royale experience of the mainline game well, Apex Legends Mobile built a dedicated mobile audience when it was launched in 2022. However, it didn't last long, as the game was shut down within a year in 2023. Players who invested time (and money) were left stranded when support was abruptly pulled. At the time, the developers cited "factors beyond our control" that would have prevented them from "maintaining the high-quality experience and content that our players deserve."
(Image Credit: Respawn Entertainment)
14. Chain Chronicle
Chain Chronicle is a long-running hybrid tower defense RPG that is quite popular in Japan thanks to its extensive roster of over 1,000 playable characters and impressive story. The game built a niche Western audience, with SEGA launching a global version of the game in 2014. However, that was abruptly shut down in 2016. Players were frustrated not because the game failed, but because it didn’t have to. While the game did have its issues with monetization and a lack of collaborations, many in the community believed the global version of Chain Chronicle performed poorly because of mismanagement from the publisher Gumi.
(Image Credit: Sega)
13. Dragalia Lost
Nintendo’s ambitious mobile RPG, Dragalia Lost, had a hugely passionate fanbase. Taking place in the kingdom of Alberia, where dragons roam, the game had ample space to expand on its exciting premise. However, it was shut down at the end of 2022, with no official reason provided. It was allegedly due to declining revenue in the months prior. Players who loved its impressive scale and design felt blindsided when support abruptly ended.
(Image Credit: Nintendo / Cygames)
12. Durango: Wild Lands
Durango: Wild Lands was a unique survival MMO with a loyal player base that launched in early 2019, but was quickly shut down by the developers Nexon less than a year later, despite its popularity. Players felt especially betrayed because the game, with its stranded survivor premise and immersive MMORPG gameplay, had real potential to become something bigger. It was described by many at the time as a would-be pioneer in open-world exploration on mobile, thanks to its primitive crafting system and gigantic scenery.
(Image Credit: What! Studio / Nexon)
11. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
As Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was developed by the same creators behind the hit game Pokémon GO, expectations were sky-high. But repetitive gameplay loops and dwindling content updates led to declining engagement, and the community slowly left the game as a whole. The game was launched in mid-2019, but its servers were eventually shut down in early 2022. Naturally, this left many fans disappointed that, with the game being based on a huge magical universe with near-limitless possibilities, the potential was never fully realized.
(Image Credit: Niantic)
10. DC Legends
DC Legends was a turn-based RPG that quietly built a loyal fanbase. It lasted several years but suffered from power creep and increasingly aggressive monetization. As time went on, updates became less meaningful, and when shutdown plans were announced in 2023, longtime players felt the game had been slowly neglected rather than properly supported. It was also upsetting because the DC universe is expansive, so building upon that was a tee-up that should've been taken advantage of.
(Image Credit: WB Games)
9. Warcraft Rumble
Although still technically active in some regions, Warcraft Rumble's early reception was marred by monetization concerns and slow updates. Many players felt Blizzard once again leaned too heavily into microtransactions, which is a common issue seen in other live-service titles. It's a shame that Blizzard has ceased the development of any new content for the game since mid-2025, as a majority of the development team has been laid off. It's also quite a letdown as a whole, as many saw Warcraft Rumble as a new direction in the franchise that could have led to success similar to Hearthstone.
(Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
8. Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier
Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier was a battle royale spin-off that desperately tried to blend magic with gunplay. To its credit, the game launched with decent interest and a fair amount of hype, but it struggled to maintain a player base soon after. Within a year, servers were shut down, leaving fans frustrated that Square Enix abandoned the project so quickly. The developers claimed they shut down the game simply because it failed to deliver the intended experience.
(Image Credit: Square Enix)
7. Digimon ReArise
Digimon, as a franchise, has garnered a dedicated community over the years due to its extensive roster of virtual pets. Digimon ReArise was a gacha RPG that attempted to attract these fans with a story-driven approach, social element, and monster collection gameplay. Unfortunately, the game was pulled off shelves in 2022, with no official reason provided. Players were especially disappointed because the game had a high ceiling with its potential and a rather simple formula that just needed to be refined.
(Image Credit: Bandai Namco)
6. Diablo Immortal
Blizzard’s mobile action RPG, Diablo Immortal, became infamous not because of its gameplay but because of its heavy monetization. A lot of players quickly realized that progression at higher levels was heavily tied to spending real-life money, with some estimates suggesting that it could cost thousands to fully max out a single character. The backlash was felt across the entire community, which felt betrayed by Blizzard since they promised a more engaging gameplay experience.
(Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment / NetEase Games)
5. Marvel Mystic Mayhem
Despite its strong visuals and team-based tactical premise, many players felt like Marvel Mystic Mayhem quickly fell into the same traps as other RPGs. Progression felt grindy at times, and there was a noticeable push toward spending if you wanted to keep up, which took away from the fun over time. The game certainly made a solid first impression on many players with its interesting combat mechanics, which is one of the reasons why it built a decent following. Sadly, NetEase Games confirmed in late 2025 that it had ended support for Marvel Mystic Mayhem, with new content no longer being released after April 2026. This was disheartening news, considering that the game had a strong IP to work with and was only launched in mid-2025.
(Image Credit: NetEase Games)
4. Nier Reincarnation
Nier Reincarnation was a gacha RPG, released in 2021, that had a compelling narrative and was set up as a sequel to Nier and Nier: Automata. Combine those two elements, and you would have thought it would spawn a massive new game. However, its grind-heavy systems and aggressive monetization drove players away over time. Eventually, declining engagement led to its shutdown in 2024, which disappointed its dedicated community.
(Image Credit: Square Enix)
3. Mighty Quest for Epic Loot
Ubisoft continues its presence in this list with Mighty Quest for Epic Loot. The game attempted to revive the action RPG franchise on mobile in 2019. For many, this was a hopeful project, as the original PC version was shut down in 2016. However, the mobile version faced the same technical and engagement problems as the PC version. By mid-2022, Ubisoft announced that they "were no longer able to ensure a satisfying quality of service for our players, and that the game was no longer sustainable." This led to the game being pulled from app stores later that year.
(Image Credit: Ubisoft)
2. Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad
Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad was arguably one of Ubisoft's more ambitious projects for mobile. It was an action RPG that saw players take command of an elite soldier squad and deploy them strategically across various game modes and maps. The game was ambitious because its roster of characters was pulled from all across Ubisoft's titles, such as Rainbow Six Siege, The Division, and Splinter Cell. Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad was sadly shut down about a year after it was launched, with the developers claiming that the game was no longer a sustainable project at that point in its lifespan.
(Image Credit: Ubisoft)
1. League of Legends: Wild Rift
League of Legends: Wild Rift reflects a different kind of disappointment. Despite strong gameplay foundations and the backing of Riot Games themselves, parts of the game's community have grown frustrated with fewer impactful update/content drops, and an esports scene that hasn’t fully lived up to expectations set by the PC version. Wild Rift hasn’t failed outright, but for many longtime players, it feels like a live-service experience that hasn’t reached its full potential even though it was released in 2020.
(Image Credit: Riot Games)
Live-service mobile games are built on a simple promise: constant updates, evolving content, and a long-term experience that players can invest in. But, unfortunately, not all of them deliver. Some lean too much into monetization, fail to deliver meaningful updates, or just announce sudden shutdowns. These games end up losing the very communities they were meant to support. With that in mind, the following mobile games started with potential, but somewhere along the way, they strayed away from their original goal and left their players disappointed.
