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I'm sad to see Stadia go, but it wasn't fun while it lasted
Despite all of its flaws, now that Stadia is unplugged for good many could miss the unique game streaming platform
It's clear as day many will miss Stadia now that the game streaming service is officially entering the Google Graveyard. Whether you're a die-hard Dadia from Reddit or simply love the versatility of Google's game streaming service, there's no doubt those that were using the platform have some large shoes to fill today as the doors shutter. While I can't say Stadia ever worked all that great for me, thankfully, there are plenty of Stadia alternatives to choose from that may work better. Still, it's sad to see the passing of any gaming service, which is why I'd like to explore Stadia's major strokes from the last four-year run. So let's get all retrospective up in here and reminisce about Stadia to see it out the door properly.
How to upgrade your Stadia Controller to the new Bluetooth mode
Google has devised a way to open Bluetooth support on the Stadia controller, and it's pretty dang easy
One of the biggest questions about Stadia's impending closure was whether or not Google would actually update the Stadia controller to open up Bluetooth support. Up until today, the only way to use a Stadia controller on a third-party platform was over USB, leaving it off the list of Android's best controllers. This all changes with Google's new Stadia controller unlock tool, which conveniently works through the Chrome browser. So if you've been keen to unlock Bluetooth support on the Stadia controller, perhaps to play some of Android's best games, we've whipped up this easy-to-follow guide so that everyone can get up to speed to play wirelessly over Bluetooth with their Stadia controller on their platform of choice.
Bandai Namco announces the end date for Tales of Luminaria — six months after it launched
The developer admits it didn't "do enough"
Tales of Luminaria is a mobile gacha game in the Tales series from Bandai Namco; described as a high-quality anime RPG, but in reality, it started off rough in the West and apparently never got better. Well, Bandai announced early this morning that the game isn't long for this world, set to close down in two months. The typical we're sorry post is available on Twitter, thanking players while apologizing for not "doing enough." Sadly, the game will end in the middle of its planned story, though one last episode is scheduled for the end of May, with the game's servers going offline on July 19th.
Dragalia Lost's last update is this month — servers closing at a later date
The final campaign ends in July
The impermanence of mobile games is frightfully apparent whenever titles less than five years old are shut down at random. The latest title gearing up to join the mobile gaming graveyard is Nintendo's gacha game Dragalia Lost. The RPG initially landed on mobile back in 2018, offering bite-sized action-RPG combat. Well, seeing that the game is now four years old, the player base has dwindled to the point it's no longer profitable for Nintendo to keep the game running. Cue today's announcement that Dragalia Lost's last campaign begins on March 31st, concluding this July, with the game's end date still up in the air but coming all the same.
Marvel Realm of Champions delisted from the Play Store, servers officially closing March 31st
Marvel Contest of Champions still remains king
It's official, Marvel Realm of Champions will soon reach the end of its life. In a recent post from Kabam, the developer has revealed that Marvel Realm of Champions is already delisted from both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, but it's not game over just yet as the servers won't go offline until March 31st. This means if you have the game installed, you will be able to play for another two months, though all in-app purchases are already offline. The game is winding down, but Kabam plans to let Realm of Champions go out with a bang by rebalancing things for fun for once, which is pretty ironic that the best time to play is when the game is dead, and about to be buried.
Microsoft has announced its plans to close its mobile racing game Forza Street less than two years from its US debut on mobile. Seeing that the game was a lazy rebrand of an already failed PC and tablet racing game previously known as Miami Street, this closure isn't surprising. The rebrand happened when plans were announced for the racer to make its way from the Microsoft Store to Android and iOS. Clearly, Microsoft knew something we didn't, and so Forza's name was used to push the mobile version out the door as if it was something new. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that Forza fans familiar with the racing series weren't keen on a tap-based casual racing game where you can't steer your car, and so Microsoft has announced that Forza Street isn't long for this world. It's set to close sometime this Spring.
Dr. Mario's about to lose his medical license
Nintendo will shut down Dr. Mario World on November 1st
It looks like all those pills Dr. Mario was prescribing willy-nilly have ended his career. Nintendo has announced that Dr. Mario World isn't long for this world, and so the game will be shut down on November 1st. Starting today, the title's in-game currency (Diamonds) are no longer being sold. Oddly enough, your play history will remain available after Dr. Mario World is shut down, which will be moved to an accessible web page once the servers are offline.
Tom Clancy's Elite Squad isn't even a year old and Ubisoft is already shutting it down
Turns out some semblance of fun is required
Well, this hardly comes as a surprise, but Ubisoft has announced that its free-to-play action RPG Tom Clancy's Elite Squad is shutting down. Today marks the last update for the title, and its servers will be shuttered on October 4th. Ubisoft says the game is no longer sustainable, which basically means it wasn't making any money. Perhaps this has to do with the heavy pay-to-win mechanics shoved into the title, or maybe it's because of the gacha that didn't offer any waifus? Either way, the game is dead less than a year from its release, which is why it's never a good idea to invest in free-to-play cash-grabs from Ubisoft.
Square Enix has just announced that it will be shutting down Mobius Final Fantasy, a free-to-play RPG originally released in 2016. The game's servers have been offline in Japan since December, and as of this morning, the studio has made it clear that the global version will be shut down on June 30, 2020. Updates and in-game events will still take place in the coming months, including the conclusion of the Warrior of Despair story, though Magicite (purchasable in-game currency) sales will end in March.
The above image details the closing date for Star Ocean: Anamnesis, the removal of the title's IAPs, and thanks fans for playing the game. While I would imagine this announcement may come as a surprise to some, it would appear that there are a few reviews on the Play Store that noticed Square's recent lack of interest in the game, so I suppose the warning signs were there if you were looking closely. Of course, those that sunk a lot of money into the title will lose access to all of their content once the game's servers are closed in November, but hey, doesn't it make you feel better knowing that Square thanked everyone while slinking away with all of your hard work.
It's a sad time when couples decide to split - the end of an era. It's even sadder when an app that was specifically meant for couples announces it's shutting down. And yet that's exactly what's happening to Avocado, the messaging app aimed at two humans who have a close relationship.
Twipic has been hosting images on Twitter for years now. Even though competitors have cropped up and Twitter has introduced its own native picture storage option, the service remains a well-known means of hosting images for use on the social network. Its official Android app, which popped up several years after the service gained wide adoption, still managed to accumulate hundreds of thousands of downloads.
Parents are supposed to love all of their children equally, but that isn't always the case. Google+ just turned three a few days ago, and my oh my how that toddler has grown. The site has picked up over half a billion users, and the Android app now looks drastically more appealing than just a few months ago (and let's not forget how it looked back when it took its first steps). Some of Google's other social networking offspring aren't so fortunate. Now the company is giving up on Orkut - its first attempt at social networking, and one that has been around for ten years now - on September 30th.
Winamp has been around since 1997, and though it has amassed a large and faithful following in the years since, the good times are coming to an end. The software will cease to be available come December 20th. Anyone who visits the download page is now greeted by a message warning that they better grab the goods while they're still available, because they won't be a month from now.