Mixi is permanently shutting down its English-language version of Monster Strike on August 1st 2017.

In a blog posted to its official website, the developer stated that the game "hasn’t quite seen the success we had hoped for" and that "sustaining the game at a satisfactory level has become difficult".

The game will be kept updated until its closure with new events and quests, as well as "plentiful" login rewards in its final month of operation. It will be pulled from App Stores on July 2nd and have its IAPs disabled at that time.

Mixi is not offering refunds to any players affected by the closure, nor will it allow them to transfer their data to a different version of the game. It also stated that it has no plans to reopen the title any time in the future.

A long time coming

Monster Strike's closure is sad, but not all that surprising. The developer had scrapped all marketing in the US in August 2016 as it pivoted to focus on China.

The decision ultimately led to an increase in profits and revenues in Mixi's Q3 FY17 financials. It also pointed to cross-promotion and cross-media efforts as having helped Monster Strike's stability in Japan.

It is also pushing further into other Asia markets, with XFLAG's Strategy Director of Global Business Division Langer Lee telling us that "markets that are closer to Japan have a higher chance of success".