Square Enix marks another one for the dumpster with SinoAlice Global confirming closure

In what is becoming a far too common occurrence, Square Enix has sounded the death knell for yet another of its mobile properties, with SinoAlice Global facing the axe. The RPG from Pokelabo and that enigma of a mind, Yoko Taro, will terminate on November 15th.

SinoAlice didn’t have the longest, or easiest, lifespan, originally launching in 2017 in Japan, following their international launch in 2020. Fast forward to the end of 2022, and it was taken offline in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, before the full global closure this year, barely turning three years old. It's a shame, but perhaps the writing was on the wall from an early stage.

There has been no definitive answer for the closure or even the standard party line that Square Enix has put out before taking another of its mobile games behind the shed and shooting it. The announcement simply says the service will be closing, and thank you for playing. Short and sweet.

The one piece of good news however is that Pokelabo also announced that players can request a refund for the unused paid Twilight Crystals you may have lying around. Note the word unused there. To apply you need to request through the app, so don't uninstall until you have the money, and you need to be updated to at least ver 55.0.0. Also, if you have changed your phone since playing, they won’t be able to verify your old payments, so keep hold of that old brick.

SinoAlice is just the latest victim of Square Enix’s mobile rampage, with titles like Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Dragon Quest Adventure of Dai Hero’s Bond, and Kingdom Hearts Unchained X all being removed in recent memory. It is a shame to see so many fun titles go, and begs the question of why.

It is no secret their profits are falling, but if this is because of the money, surely closing all the games would make users less likely to spend on the survivors for fear they would be next. Hopefully next time we will get a better answer than “we couldn’t live up to our expectations”.

If you want to get in on the action before servers close or bid farewell to that old friend, download SinoAlice from the App Store and Google Play.