Ethan Crossfield 
Live-service games don’t always last as long as players hope, and Square Enix has now confirmed the permanent end of one of the biggest mobile entries in the Final Fantasy 7 universe. Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis will stop service on October 6, ending roughly three years of free-to-play availability.
The shutdown date is locked in
Square Enix has officially announced that Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis will permanently shut down this October. Service ends on October 6 at 11:00 PM PT, with the equivalent time falling on October 7 in some regions. The publisher says it reached the conclusion that it would be difficult to keep delivering the level of service players expect.
In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, Square Enix also stopped sales of premium Red Crystals, the game’s purchasable currency. However, players who already own Red Crystals will still be able to spend them until the servers go offline.
Square Enix also confirmed there’s still activity left before the end: new in-game events and updates are planned through the final months of service, giving players a last window to complete remaining content.
A three-year run across multiple FF7 stories
Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis launched on mobile in September 2023, then later expanded to Steam within the same year. The game’s pitch was ambitious from the start: it retells key moments from across the broader Final Fantasy 7 compilation while also adding new material.
That approach included revisiting entries such as Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Advent Children, and Dirge of Cerberus. It also introduced The First Soldier, a new storyline that explores Sephiroth’s origins years before the events of the original game—an angle that helped position Ever Crisis as one of Square Enix’s more far-reaching mobile RPG projects.
With service ending, that curated cross-title experience will eventually become inaccessible. Square Enix notes that after the shutdown, account information will be deleted as part of the closure process.
What players can do before October 6
Even with the countdown underway, there are still clear reasons to log back in before the final day. Square Enix has stated that new events and updates will continue right up until service ends, meaning players can still work through whatever is scheduled for the closing stretch.
Additionally, if you’ve kept any premium Red Crystals in reserve, those can still be used until the servers go dark. After October 6, however, access ends completely and the game will no longer be playable.
Square Enix also points to what comes next for the franchise: Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is set to release in Spring 2027.
Shutdowns keep reshaping Square Enix’s catalog
This isn’t the only recent headline involving Square Enix game preservation and access. Earlier this year, the publisher confirmed that multiple Kingdom Hearts Cloud versions on Nintendo Switch would become permanently unplayable on June 9, 2027. Those titles included Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, Kingdom Hearts 3 + ReMind, and Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece.
The common thread is permanence: while Ever Crisis is a live-service mobile game ending its servers, the Kingdom Hearts issue centers on cloud versions being replaced by native Switch releases. Either way, the result is the same for affected players—another slice of Square Enix’s games moving toward an irreversible end.
Key points
- Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis ends service on October 6 at 11:00 PM PT (October 7 in some regions).
- Red Crystal sales have stopped, but existing currency remains usable until shutdown.
- New events and updates are planned through the final months of service.
- After closure, accounts will eventually be deleted and the game will be inaccessible.
Confirmed closure details
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Service end time | October 6, 11:00 PM PT (October 7 in some regions) |
| Premium currency sales | Stopped immediately after the shutdown announcement |
| Existing Red Crystals | Usable until servers go offline |
| Final content window | Events and updates continue through the end of service |
Expert View
Ever Crisis shutting down signals a tough reality for long-running mobile RPGs: even well-known franchise entries can lose momentum if the cost of maintaining the expected service level outweighs projected viability. For the community, it’s a reminder that “free-to-play” doesn’t guarantee permanence, and that planned end-of-life content windows matter—players who want closure will need to treat the final months as the last active period. In the broader market, these shutdowns also underline how quickly platform and delivery models can shift, with Square Enix continuing to transition players toward newer experiences while older versions become permanently unavailable.
