This week, the publisher announced that Square Enix will be ending support for its Chocobo GP kart racing on the Nintendo Switch. Square Enix says Chocobo GP will “no longer receive massive updates” including new characters or new maps. The publisher also stopped selling the premium currency of the racing game Mythril.
In an “important notice” posted on the support site, Square Enix said that Chocobo GP players who own Mithril must spend it as it expires on January 6, 2023. But it looks like players will still be able to purchase items from the current Season 5 in other ways – tickets to the Chocobo Grand Prix and the Gil Shop. These purchases will include items sold during the first four seasons of the game.
Square Enix notes that Chocobo GP is still playable. This change does not affect the mobile versions of Chocobo GP for Android and iOS.
Square Enix’s end of support for Chocobo GP comes just nine months after the game’s launch on the Nintendo Switch. The game is the spiritual successor to Chocobo Racing, released in 1999 on the original PlayStation. The release of Chocobo GP was met with criticism from Square Enix, who released the game for $49.99 but monetized it as a free-to-play mobile game with a paid season pass and three in-game currencies.
Chocobo GP allows players to play as familiar faces from Final Fantasy (and Chocobo spin-offs), including roller-skating chocobos, Sid, Terra Branford, Vivi, and Steiner, and summon Shiva, Titan, Gilgamesh, and Ifrit. Racers can use famous Final Fantasy spells such as Aero, Blizzard, Fire, and Thunder to take on opponents in races reminiscent of Nintendo’s Mario Kart series.