It's rare for me to express true astonishment in writing, but I think I speak for most people when I say I was shocked to learn that Tribe Nine is set to be shuttered. According to a recent announcement, the servers for Tribe Nine will be shut off on November 27th, with any upcoming updates now cancelled and the game's end of service (EOS) officially announced. This also means that paid Enigma Entities will be refunded, and in-game purchases will be halted.
It's an acrimonious end for Tribe Nine, which just a couple of months ago boasted over ten million downloads. Based on the popular anime series and featuring art by Danganronpa veteran Rui Komatsuzaki, the game offered regular ARPG gameplay alongside the unique Xtreme Baseball boss battles that fans of the series will recognize.
Tribe Nine's unceremonious cancellation continues a troubling trend over the last few years, where many releases have been shut down after less than a year in service. For many fans of these games, it can feel disheartening to invest time and emotion into them, especially with the looming threat of EOS.
Considering that Rui Komatsuzaki's art has graced the well-received Hundred Line -Last Defence Academy- on other platforms, there seems little reason why Tribe Nine would be cancelled on the service. However, being ditched so soon after launch may backfire on developer Akatsuki Games.
With another anime-based release on the horizon, Kaiju No.8: The Game, Akatsuki Games is likely banking on attracting fans of the existing series. Yet, casual players might be wary of Akatsuki's track record and hesitate to invest in another potentially short-lived game. Either way, for fans of Tribe Nine, it's not exactly a happy Friday.
Despite this setback, there are still plenty of great releases out there to keep you entertained. Why not check out our latest feature covering the top five new mobile games to try this week on mobile for some of our top picks?
