Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis has one week left. Square Enix confirmed on July 7 that its episodic mobile retelling of Final Fantasy VII will permanently end service on October 6 at 11:00 p.m. PT, October 7 at 2:00 a.m. ET, or 3:00 p.m. JST that same day in Japan. Servers go dark on PC, iOS, and Android alike, three years after launch.
Square Enix's stated reason is the same one nearly every mobile shutdown notice leans on: the company says it can no longer guarantee "the best possible experience" for players over the long term. Producer Shoichi Ichikawa has pointed more specifically at cost. Rendering high-fidelity character models and weapon designs at the standard the game built its identity on got expensive, and balancing that production cost against fair, sustainable gameplay became untenable.
What's already dead, and what still works
Square Enix didn't wait for October to start dismantling the game. Two systems went dark the day of the announcement, back on July 7:
- Steam downloads: cut off entirely. New players can no longer install the PC version at all.
- Red Crystal purchases: closed. The premium currency can no longer be bought with real money, on any platform.
Existing Red Crystals aren't frozen, though. Until the servers actually go offline, players can still spend whatever balance they're holding on gacha banners, shop items, and anything else the currency unlocks in-game. For anyone still logged in, that's the last practical window to get value out of unused Crystals before they become worthless.
Refunds: a narrow exception, not a rule
One detail stands out. Square Enix is offering a refund for unused paid Red Crystals, but only to players who reside in Taiwan.
- Refund window: August 31, 2026, 7:00 p.m. through October 6, 2026, 11:00 p.m. PT.
- Conversion: unused Red Crystals convert to New Taiwan dollars at a fixed rate.
- Processing: refund payouts begin October 7, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. PT.
- Eligibility: Taiwan residents only, and only for Crystals bought through the in-game shop — bonus or free currency doesn't qualify.
Everyone else, the vast majority of the player base across North America, Europe, and the rest of Asia, gets nothing back. Nintendo's own Mario Kart Tour shutdown this same season opened unused paid Ruby refunds to players more broadly instead of restricting them to a single territory. If you're sitting on a Red Crystal balance outside Taiwan, spending it before October 6 is the only way to get any return on it.
Part of a rougher year for Japanese mobile gacha
Ever Crisis launched September 7, 2023, on iOS and Android, then arrived on Steam that December, retelling the story of the original Final Fantasy VII in episodic chapters alongside a standard gacha system for characters and weapons. It sat inside the Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth revival, giving Square Enix a mobile foothold in the story between mainline releases.
Its closure isn't an isolated case. Japan's mobile gaming sector has had a difficult 2026, with a wave of gacha titles announcing end-of-service dates and studio bankruptcies in the space reaching record levels. Rising production costs for live-service content, paired with player spending that hasn't kept pace, have squeezed even titles backed by major publishers.
For anyone still playing, the to-do list is short: burn through any leftover Red Crystals on something usable before October 6, and if you're in Taiwan, file for your refund once the window opens on the 7th. For everyone else, whatever's left in the account disappears the moment the servers close.
