Tencent announced that Call of Duty Online will be shutting down for good due to declining interest. Fans are being pushed to switch to Call of Duty: Mobile as an alternative free experience. While Call of Duty Online has been the prominent franchise title within China's market, the game developers have decided it is time to move on and push Call of Duty: Mobile to its audience.
Call of Duty Online originally was released in 2015 following its 2012 beta, and the game was designed to help Call of Duty breach the Chinese market. The franchise has previously struggled due to cost and distribution laws, but the free-to-play alternative showed decent success impressing the foreign audience. After six years of service, the game is officially coming to an end.
After an upsurge of Call of Duty: Mobile's success, the development company Tencent has decided to turn off Call of Duty Online's servers. This will not affect Call of Duty: Warzone or Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War audiences, but it does pose a problem for some members of the Chinese community. Activision hopes to shift the players within Call of Duty Online to Call of Duty: Mobile and boost the overall population of the mobile experience. With Call of Duty: Mobile already available within China, the developers expect the transition to be fairly smooth.
In the message released by Call of Duty: Mobile developer Tencent, the developers thank their audience for the time and dedication seen in the past 6 years. Registrations are closed as of June 1, and on August 31 the game is officially stopping all operations. Once servers close, all game data and other information will be cleared.
To thank their audience, they have prepared a compensation activity event within the game and are offering extra rewards for Call of Duty: Mobile. This activity will allow players to gain some extra cosmetics, items, and digital currency that they may lose during this transition. Interested players can find this event on the official Call of Duty: Mobile website.
Fans may see a surge in Call of Duty: Mobile participation, but the results of this closure are currently unknown. While many are saddened by the closure of the title, others share a positive reception in the comments of varying posts. A majority of Call of Duty fans remain unaffected by this change, but it is the loss of an iconic title among the franchise's many assets.
Call of Duty: Mobile is available on iOS and Android devices.
Source: Call of Duty Online