Monster-slinging RPG launched in N. America in 2014

The official English website for the Monster Strike mobile action role-playing game announced on Monday that the English version of the game will shut down on August 1. The staff said that the English version did not become the success they had hoped, and maintaining the game "at a satisfactory level has become difficult, no matter how much we want to keep it going."

Before service ends, the XFLAG staff will continue to release new content for the game. The closure announcement revealed the schedule leading up to the shutdown of the game:

May 2017 – New Transcensions, a new Colossal Quest, and the Tower of Champions will be released

June 2017 – New event series will be rapidly released along with daily and new Impossible Quests

July 2017 – Plentiful login rewards, new event series, daily and new Impossible Quests will be released

July 2nd, 2017 – In-game purchases, new installs, and data recovery will be disabled

August 1st, 2017 – Servers will shutdown



Players will not be able to transfer their accounts to continuing versions of the game. People can continue to download the game and make in-game purchases until July 2. However, refunds will not be available.

XFLAG describes the game:

Monsters will bring us together in this perfect free-to-play game for friends and family. Team up and slingshot monsters around like pinballs. Play with up to three others locally for fun mayhem and unforgettable memories. Become a master and collect over 1,000 unique and powerful monsters — staking your claim as the best Striker around!

Social networking service Mixi released Monster Strike on iOS and Android devices in Japan in 2013. XFLAG released the English version in North America in 2014. The game also debuted in Taiwan and South Korea in 2014. The game's staff reports over 35 million players worldwide. Mixi released a Nintendo 3DS port of the game in Japan in 2015.

The smartphone game inspired the Monster Strike net anime's first season in October 2015, and the 50th and final episode aired on December 1. The second anime season premiered on April 1, and the series is streaming episodes with English subtitles on YouTube. The first season is also streaming on YouTube with English subtitles. Crunchyroll is streaming both seasons of the anime.

The Monster Strike The Movie prequel opened in December and topped the Japanese box office in its first weekend.

[Via Hachima Kikō]