Final Fantasy Record Keeper's Pending Shutdown Is A Grim Reminder That Nothing In Mobile Lasts Forever

thegamer.com:

“I downloaded it a month after I met the person I’d marry — now we have a toddler.” vsmack, one of several Redditors I ask about Square Enix’s long-running mobile game Final Fantasy Record Keeper, tells me. The free-to-play gacha, with its impressive sprite-based artwork and series trademark Active Time Battle system, united the passions of a generation of Final Fantasy aficionados. On September 29, publisher DeNA will shut down its global servers forever. “The crazy thing is, for all the other games that I've loved over the years, I know one day my little kid might be able to play it,” vsmack continues. “Not so [for] Record Keeper.”

Mobile games like Final Fantasy Record Keeper are at a unique disadvantage in the war for video game preservation. So long as they’re profitable, their servers are active. They exist. When the time comes to close the gates, they vanish completely, only living on in the minds of those who played them.

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It’s easy to cast an all-consuming doubt upon gacha-based games given their frequently predatory practices. You can start for free, and it’s hypothetically possible to get through an ever-rising mountain of content without engaging in the premium currency systems reliant upon you digging out your wallet, though frequently unrealistic.

Predictably, some gacha are far worse than others, crippling free-to-play players with insurmountable handicaps. Tack on the limited-time events sporting the chance to gamble for your favorite characters and weapons, and it’s clear that players with a strong sense of FOMO are the primary targets.

But most fans I spoke to share in the sentiment that Record Keeper hasn’t been