Square Enix will close the Japanese server for Fantasy Earth Zero on September 28, 2022. The MMORPG will have lasted for over fifteen years by the time of its shutdown.
Square Enix initially launched the online game in 2006 in Japan as Fantasy Earth ~The Ring of Dominion~, a paid game with monthly subscription payments. Gamepot relaunched the online title as a free-to-play game titled Fantasy Earth Zero later in the same year. The latter launch proved to be more successful, and it reached one million players in 2011.
Zero also appeared briefly in North America in May 2010. However, it did not last a year, as Gamepot shut it down in March 2011. The online game operator later transferred the game’s management to Square Enix in 2015.
The PC MMORPG also lasted longer than its mobile successor. Square Enix launched Fantasy Earth Genesis for iOS and Android devices in September 2018. However, it only lasted one and a half years, as the company shut down Genesis in March 2020.
Fantasy Earth Zero is also known for featuring crossover content from other franchises. Besides the in-house Bravely Default, Square Enix included content from anime titles like Fate/Zero. The company also worked with Nihon Falcom to add outfits modeled after Trails series characters.
Fantasy Earth Zero is available for Windows PCs in Japan until September 28, 2022.