By Michael Koczwara | Source thinfilm.no
2/26/2021

Mobile Games Scroll is a curated weekly roundup of the hottest news from gaming-on-the-go.

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, the latest mobile installment in the vast role-playing game franchise, is set to shut down its online component. An offline version of the game will remain for those who want to play through Dark Road’s story.

Series director Tetsuya Nomura took to social media to announce the decision. "For me personally, I remember getting excited the first time I saw the game playing smoothly on a smartphone screen in 2D when Unchainedx was first made into an app," said Nomura. "There are only a few months left but I would be happy if you stayed with us until the end. I'd also love to see those who have yet to experience the game journey with us to its conclusion."

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road will remove its online functionalities on May 31 when it updates to version 4.40 and converts to an offline only app. Story segments will continue to be released until version 5.00 in September. Once the mobile game is completely offline, players will still be able to complete main quests and fight in world battles along with the ability to discover new cards and watch cutscenes. The sale of Jewels, the game's in-game currency, is no longer available.

Here's what else is happening in the world of mobile games.

Coin Master Generates $2 Billion

Casino based mobile game Coin Master surpassed an impressive $2 billion in lifetime player spending after a year of increased usage during the global COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report by Sensor Tower, developer Moon Active originally saw the mobile game break through $1.2 billion once 2020 rolled around. Throughout 2020, monthly spending on Coin Master continued to increase, culminating in its best month in December where it gathered $118 million, an increase of 92.7 percent year-over-year. These monetary trends continue to look successful moving into 2021.

Blade & Soul Sets Release Date

Blade & Soul Revolution, Netmarble's latest open world mobile RPG, will release worldwide on Mar. 4 on the App Store and Google Play. Based on the MMO of the same name on PC, this mobile adaption features five different classes to choose from and a variety of modes for PvP battles and 16 player cooperation raids. Players that pre-register now will receive 1,000 Black Crystals and one premium pet.

Stats from Pokémon Go's Big Weekend

Last weekend's Kanto Tour event for Pokémon Go tasked players with catching Pokémon originally found in the first generation game in a paid event that increased spawns and shiny rates. With the day even over, Niantic revealed a few interesting stats. Trainers walked 5.5 miles on average and between the two ticket versions players were required to pick from, 53.7 percent of players selected the Red version over the Green version. In total, trainers caught 672 million Pokémon and traded 7.2 million of them.

Other Stories to Check Out

A new Battle Royale set in a futuristic world of PUBG is headed to mobile platforms. PUBG: New State will release on Android and iOS later in 2021 and you can read more about the announcement here.

Two Final Fantasy VII companion games were announced this week and both are headed to mobile. You can read more about the Battle Royale focused Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier and the new single player experience Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis here.

Photo courtesy of Square Enix

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