Square Enix has announced that it will terminate its operation services for Engage Kill on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at noon JST. It has also immediately ceased in-app purchases that let players purchase the in-game premium currency Orgonium with real money.
The developers cited difficulty in providing services that could satisfy players as the primary reason for shutting down the mobile game. Engage Kill is part of Project Engage, a joint mixed-media project set up by Aniplex in 2022. The first part of the project features the anime and manga title Engage Kiss.
A-1 Pictures produced the anime version of Engage Kiss, and it completed a single-season run from July 2022 to September 2022 with 13 episodes. The manga serialization also launched on Square Enix’s Manga UP! platform, and the company also published its first tankobon volume in February 2023.
Square Enix opened pre-registrations for Engage Kill in Summer 2022, and the game eventually launched in Japan on March 1, 2023. The mobile game has not even reached its first anniversary yet when Square Enix announced its closure. While Engage Kill will have an overall lifespan of slightly over a year, it will pass through the anniversary day on a very somber note.
Square Enix has been reviewing the performances of its free-to-play mobile games in recent days, and it announced the closures for a good number of them as a result. The company will sunset the global English version of Dragon Quest Tact on February 29, 2024, although the original Japanese release will continue running. Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile, which is only released in Japan, will also be shut down entirely on March 29, 2024.
Engage Kill is available on iOS and Android mobile devices in Japan until March 21, 2024.