Last month, news came that Square Enix and Pokelabo’s SinoAlice Global would be shutting down on November 15. At the time, it looked as though the Japanese version of the game was remaining stable and online, however a new announcement has confirmed its end of days too.

SinoAlice has an "ending play period" planned to begin on Boxing Day, December 26, that will run until January 15 2024. At that time, the story will come to an end, as will the game’s services on iOS and Android.

The end of the road

SinoAlice first launched in Japan in June 2017 and, overcoming Square Enix’s habit of making Japan-exclusive mobile games, released worldwide in 2020. The dark fantasy RPG has ceased sales of its premium Twilight Crystals with refunds available for paid currency that goes unused. For now, there is still content players can spend Twilight Crystals on if they so choose, but even that will cease on December 26.

The DMM and browser versions are also closing on December 26, and with the mobile version ending in January, soon SinoAlice will be out of action everywhere.

The end of service announcement comes as something of a shock - delayed by almost two months since the shutdown of Global was revealed, and at a time when Japanese mobile gamers are spending above and beyond.

"The management team would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the customers who have patronised and enjoyed SinoAlice. During the maintenance on October 26, we will implement in-game campaigns and events to help you enjoy the remaining period to the end," the SinoAlice team said.

"Although there is only a short period left until the end of the service, we hope that you will enjoy SinoAlice until the end."

Two weeks after SinoAlice’s mobile end date, Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light will be closing down too. Another Square Enix title, this instalment also had a Western release that closed down first, though many years earlier in its case. How Square’s new Kingdom Hearts game will fare on mobile remains to be seen.