TouchArcade Rating:

Bad news for fans of The World Ends With You ($17.99) on iOS. The game doesn’t work on iOS 8, and it looks like there are no plans for the game to work in the near future. Thanks to a tip from a reader who emailed Square Enix support, they replied “Unfortunately we have been notified that this title will not be receving an update to be compatable with iOS 8 and forward. For this we and the development team deeply apologize. We can only suggest that you play the game on an iOS 7 or earlier device at this time."

This unfortunately shows the problem with not just iOS 8 in particular, which has been particularly destructive to old apps’ compatibility, but with operating systems that are constantly updating. The Nintendo DS will run its version of The World Ends With You until the end of time. But because updating apps takes time, effort, and resources that a company like Square Enix might not be willing to put in, a game like this could just fall prey to the whims of history at any one moment. While I love digital distribution myself, there’s also that fear that anything we buy could go up in smoke at any one moment. Back your stuff up, folks.

Unfortunately, the game is also still up for sale, and reports that they’re still investigating the iOS 8 bug. While the support email we received says that they’ll refund anyone who bought the game recently, the idea that they would continue to sell a broken product is disappointing. Pull the app or update it, Square Enix, do right by your customers.