"Tribe Nine Cancelled Just Three Months Post-Launch"

It's rare for me to express true astonishment in writing, but I think I speak for most people when I say I was shocked to learn that Tribe Nine is set to be shuttered. According to a recent news post, the servers for Tribe Nine will be shut off on November 27th, with any upcoming updates now cancelled. Additionally, the end-of-service (EOS) announcement has been made, and paid Enigma Entities will be refunded, while in-game purchases will be halted.

It's an acrimonious end for Tribe Nine, which just a couple of months ago celebrated over ten million downloads. Based on the anime series of the same name and featuring art by Danganronpa veteran Rui Komatsuzaki, the game offered regular ARPG gameplay along with the unique Xtreme Baseball boss battles that fans of the series will recognize.

Tribe Nine's unceremonious cancellation continues a troubling trend over the last few years, where many games have been discontinued within less than a year of their launch. For fans of these games, it can seem pretty hopeless to become invested, given the looming threat of EOS.

Considering that Rui Komatsuzaki's art has also graced the well-received Hundred Line -Last Defence Academy- on other platforms, there seems little reason why Tribe Nine would be cancelled on this service. However, being ditched so soon after its launch may backfire on developer Akatsuki Games.

With another anime-based release on the horizon, Kaiju No.8: The Game, Akatsuki Games is likely banking on attracting fans of the existing series. But casual players may look at Akatsuki's track record and hesitate at the prospect of another game facing a similar fate. Either way, for fans of Tribe Nine, it's not exactly a happy Friday.

Despite this setback, there are still many great releases out there to keep you engaged. Why not check out our latest feature covering the top five new mobile games to try this week on mobile for some of our top picks?