King of Fighters ALLSTAR will be ending service at the end of this year
As announced on the Netmarble blog, in-game purchases have been closed
The game is forecast to close on October 30th
Beat 'em up ARPG King of Fighters ALLSTAR will, unexpectedly, be closing service in October of 2024. The announcement was made via the official Netmarble forums, where it was stated that the game would be closing as of October 30th, with in-game purchases already closed.
The announcement comes somewhat unexpectedly as King of Fighters ALLSTAR has been going strong for more than six years, and holding collaborations with many high-profile fighting game franchises, itself based on the slightly more niche but still historically important King of Fighters franchise from SNK.
The developer's handbook announcement that goes into more detail appears to attribute this closure at least partially to the game running out of fighters to actually adapt, even from a series with as large a roster as KoF. While we can hazard a guess that this is most likely not the only reason, it at least gives a little bit of background to the decision.
What now?
The King of Fighters ALLSTAR closure is, sadly, continuing a trend this year of many long-running live-service games for smartphones being shuttered. It at once highlights the risk of preserving these games, and also shows that despite smartphones being so popular, somehow the business people behind the scenes are struggling to keep the lights on.
Regardless of the disappointment, if you now need a new game to occupy your time, then why not take a look at our list of the best smartphone games of 2024 (so far) to see what we think is top of the charts?
Better yet, you can always dig into our other regular feature of the top five new smartphone games you need to try this week! Both lists feature constantly updated top picks from virtually every genre that's sure to have something you'll enjoy no matter what your tastes are.
