Square Enix shuts down Final Fantasy iOS game due to irreparable bug

Developers beware of the haunting downsides of changes to a game’s in-app purchase models. It turns out they can be so catastrophic that they can take the entire game down with them.

Such is the case with the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, itself a remaster of a 2003 GameCube game then ported to mobile platforms. On all versions of the game including Switch, PlayStation 4, and Android, the player could buy costumes for their character to mimic other Final Fantasy references throughout the series. In the mobile versions specifically, in-app purchases also allowed the player to upgrade from the demo to the full version of the game. Recent changes to this in-app purchase model have glitched out, not giving purchasers their entitlements after buying, and Square-Enix says they cannot fix it.