Fact Check: Will Apex Legends Mobile in-app purchases be refunded after game shuts down?

Developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, Apex Legends is an online multiplayer battle royale game available on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile. However, it now appears that the game will lose its presence on one major platform, leaving players displeased with the news.

Apex Legends Mobile (Image via Respawn Entertainment)

In an official statement released by Respawn Entertainment today, Apex Legends Mobile, the Android and iOS versions of the original Titanfall-based game, will discontinue on May 1, 2023. The game was only released in May 2022, and it has now been confirmed that it will be shut down on its one-year anniversary.

This news was followed by the scrapping of Battlefield Mobile, another game that was still in development but has officially been canceled by its developers, Industrial Toys.

Apex Legends Mobile has been a popular battle royale shooter since debuting and even won an award for the best overall game on the Google Play Store. However, according to a report from the developers, they found it difficult to keep the game afloat and struggled to attract new players.

The final decision was made by the developers to shut down the game as a result of not being able to maintain the "high-quality experience and content that players deserve." Currently, the game will only be playable until May 1, 2023, and will not be available for download thereafter on both Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store.

Will in-app purchases made in Apex Legends Mobile be refunded?

The game being shut down has worried players who have spent a lot of money purchasing in-game items, raising concerns and questions about whether they will receive refunds before or after the game discontinues.

However, in a blog post by EA, it has been confirmed that all in-app purchases made by players will NOT be refunded as per the terms of the EA user agreement. Additionally, players cannot make further in-game purchases with real money.

However, players can still spend their virtual currency (Syndicate Gold) to make purchases until the server shuts down at 4 pm PDT on May 1, 2023. While the mobile version of Apex Legends will be shutting down, its PC and console counterparts are still active and can be played without issues.

Apex Legends Mobile Store (Image via Respawn Entertainment)

With PC and console gaming slowly making headway in India, players can experience popular battle royale games on these platforms, as the game was initially designed to run on PC and consoles. The PC version has a large player base, and given a computer's technical capabilities, new players of the mobile version should consider switching to this platform.

In a concluding note issued by the developers, they said they are positive about the mobile gaming segment. They added that they are looking to explore more opportunities to take advantage of this growing platform and possibly develop new games in the near future.