Updated

Updated · Kotaku · Jul 8

Square Enix Shuts Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis on October 6 as Costs Outrun Gacha Demand

Updated

Updated · Kotaku · Jul 8

Square Enix Shuts Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis on October 6 as Costs Outrun Gacha Demand

Q: Will the exclusive stories from Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis be lost forever after its shutdown?

Yes—unless Square Enix announces an offline version or another official archive, the exclusive stories in Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis are likely to become inaccessible after the game shuts down on October 6, 2026. The shutdown notice says service will end permanently and that account information will be deleted afterward. There is no mention of an offline mode, a standalone story release, or any preservation plan for the game’s original narrative content. That matters because Ever Crisis contains material not easily available elsewhere, including its original Sephiroth backstory, character episodes, and the game’s retelling of Before Crisis, which had been difficult to access outside Japan. Square Enix is still planning to release more story content before the end, including the untold story of Before Crisis in July and August 2026 and a final chapter in September. But based on the company’s announcement, those stories will remain tied to the live service. Once the servers go offline, players should no longer be able to access them through the game. Some of the story scenes may survive through fan recordings or preservation efforts, but that is unofficial and incomplete. In practical terms, without action from Square Enix, Ever Crisis’s exclusive story content faces the same risk as many live-service and mobile games: it may not be playable or officially viewable after shutdown.

3 articles · Updated · Kotaku · Jul 8

October 6 is the end date Square Enix set for Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, the mobile and PC gacha RPG launched in 2023.
Producer Shoichi Ichikawa said the game became hard to sustain because production costs no longer balanced with demand for character weapons and gear.
Red Crystal sales have already ended, but the team plans to keep the game active through its final months with rerun events and a last story chapter.
Ever Crisis mixed retellings and new Final Fantasy VII stories, including added Sephiroth backstory and crossover-style alternate settings.
The shutdown follows Square Enix's earlier Final Fantasy VII mobile retreat: battle royale spinoff The First Soldier launched in 2021 and closed two years later.