Free-to-play multiplayer spin-off Just Cause Mobile has been cancelled by publisher Square Enix, three years after it was announced.
Once pencilled in for a 2021 release, multiplayer spin-off Just Cause Mobile has been cancelled, Square Enix has announced.
The move was revealed on 2 July by the company’s global brand manager, Anne-Lou Grosbois-Favreau, albeit in a somewhat muted fashion. Multiple outlets, including VGC, have quoted a statement by Grosbois-Favreau in which she expresses her “sadness” at the decision to end the game’s development, which appeared to originate on Just Cause Mobile's Discord server – this has since been shut down.
At any rate, the statement was screenshotted by PinoyGamer – which is just as well, because it doesn’t appear to have been repeated on Square Enix’s press website or social channels.
“It is with great sadness that we are announcing the end of development for Just Cause Mobile,” Grosbois-Favreau wrote in her bewilderingly obscure statement. “As of tomorrow, 3 July 2023, the game will no longer appear on digital stores. It is never easy to put forth an announcement of this nature, especially to our fans who have been awaiting the release. We sincerely appreciate the support you have given us.”
The post goes on to note that any in-game currency (Blue Diamonds) purchased by players would be refunded.
Just Cause Mobile had a short and troubled life. Announced in 2020, the spin-off from Avalanche Studios’ antic sandbox franchise was originally supposed to be released in 2021. Its trailer showed off some familiar Just Cause-style action – blowing up fuel tanks with red stripes painted on them, and surfing on missiles, that sort of thing – while its website trumpeted its 30-player action and four-player co-op missions.
The game was subsequently delayed, then put into early access in parts of South East Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia, in April 2022. By December that year, it was announced that Just Cause Mobile was to be delayed indefinitely.
While we can only speculate as to the reasons behind the game’s cancellation – was it rubbish, did Square Enix think it wouldn’t make any money, or both? – the end was swift and decisive. Its website, Twitter account and above-mentioned Discord server have all been shut down, and the game has vanished from Google Play.
Godspeed, Just Cause Mobile – we hardly knew ye.
