Mobile game Sonic Runners will sadly come to an end in the next couple of months. Sega announced the iOS and Android game’s closure to its fan base over on the official Sonic Runners website, along with a sincere thank you for the support it has received since its release last year as part of the company’s 25th anniversary.
Despite receiving more than six million downloads as of December 2015, Sonic Runners will come to an abrupt halt worldwide on July 27 at 9am UTC. With its 2D tap-to-jump gameplay which follows Sonic, Tails and Knuckles as they hunt for Dr Eggman, it was an addictive game for many. Yet even though the Sonic Team supported the game through continuous updates over the past year, the plug was eventually pulled by Sega Japan.
As the game relies on its core online connectivity, Sonic Runners won’t be playable beyond July 27. It’s not yet known whether Sega will supply an offline version of the game. It’s clear that the staying power of mobile apps is still an issue, particularly with the decline in play of Nintendo’s first mobile app Miitomo. Sega’s official comment for the closure can be seen below.
NOTIFICATION OF CLOSURE OF SERVICE
Thank you for your continued support of SONIC RUNNERS.
Since launch, the Sonic Runners Team has done its best to provide our users with the most
enjoyable play experience possible. It is with great regret that we announce the closure of Sonic Runners, effective from the dates below.
We would like express our most sincere thanks to all our users for their patronage and support.
The Sonic Runners team hopes that you enjoyed the journey as much as we did.CLOSURE SCHEDULE
5/27, 9AM (UTC): Red Star Ring sales end.
7/27, 9AM (UTC): Closure of service.Any Red Star Rings purchased prior to 5/27, 9AM (UTC) will not be useable or redeemable after closure of service so please use all Red Star Rings by 7/27, 9AM (UTC).
Thank you for playing SONIC RUNNERS.
If this game had an offline mode and no pay-to-win transactions, it’d be 100% better.
Poor Sonic, raped by the company who owns him…
Maybe it’s time to move on….
Sonic should get the treatment that Banjo Kazooie got; Yooka Laylee.
Yeah we’ll call him Sanic the Heghag
:D
Good, fail mobile fail, hope pokemon go comes out and 90% of users stop after 2 weeks
That’s too bad…
– said no one ever
I actually enjoyed the game, but the loading times are what took me away from it. The visuals and soundtrack were excellent though.
…so at this point if you don’t announce SA3 or something, Sonic’s anniversary will basically be a wasted opportunity for any brand repairing.
Oh wow, so this was the great announcement? Awesome!
Lol I never even heard of it until now.
Oh please no… Don’t cancel Sonic Runners… What will we ever do without another “amazing” mobile game trashing an already damaged franchise..? I bet you, Sega… Don’t shut it down… *does a very low, sarcastic nooooooooo*
I beg you, Sega…* Fixed. Fucking typo! Instead of making a new layout for WordPress, WordPress should be working on giving us a bloody edit button.
It’s actually a pretty decent game. However, just like any other mobile game, transactions, and limited plays, and always online ruined the experience.
As you described, he made me out to be the crazy one to family and buddies – all
under the concerned guise of a caring husband.