A game not included on our list of major 2022 games that died this year was Square Enix’s kart racer, Chocobo GP. There’s a reason for that, as it will remain playable for the foreseeable future. However, as Square Enix announced on December 21, the game is effectively dead now since “no further large scale updates” are coming any time soon. RIP.
Chocobo GP is the sequel to Square Enix’s 1999 speedster, Chocobo Racing. Another entry planned for the Nintendo 3DS, Codename: Chocobo Racing 3D, was announced at E3 2010 but quickly cancelled before ever seeing the light of day. Chocobo GP, which launched onMarch 10, 2022 for Nintendo Switch was a surprising return for the long-dormant franchise that drew ire from fans for its grindy mechanics and expensive battle pass.
Read More: Square Enix Apologizes For Chocobo GP Grind Following Backlash
Now, in a maybe not-so-surprising turn of events, Square Enix has ended support for Chocobo GP just nine months after the game’s launch. It wasn’t even a year old yet, but in an important notice on the game’s website, the publisher said “there will be no further large scale updates (e.g. new characters or new maps) [added] to [Chocobo GP] after the Season 5 update on Wednesday, December 21.” Rankings will continue without the use of the battle pass (called prize pass in the game), but you can no longer buy the premium in-game currency Mythril from the Nintendo eShop. The in-game shop you’d use said Mythril, along with any unspent Mythril you have, will vanish entirely from Chocobo GP on January 6.
“Furthermore, new items will continue to be added to the Mythril shop during Season 5 as before, but the same items may also be added to the Ticket or Gil shops at the same time and become available to obtain without spending Mythril,” Square Enix said. “Items originally sold in the Mythril Shop during the Season 1 to Season 4 periods may also be added to the Ticket or Gil Shops. We hope you continue to enjoy Chocobo GP.”
Kotaku reached out to Square Enix for comment.
Square Enix didn’t provide a cause or explanation for it’s unceremoniously ending support for the Mario Kart-like racer. Maybe allocating resources to the game proved untenable or developer Arika is focusing its attention somewhere else. It’s hard to say, but regardless, you will still be able to play Chocobo GP until it’s taken offline. Whenever that happens.
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