Konami has made public its plans to discontinue Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls in the near future. The title, which has been available exclusively through Apple Arcade, is slated to be removed from the platform’s catalogue on August 20.
Following that delisting, the game’s servers will be shut down on September 3, after which the experience will no longer be accessible to players. In an official statement posted on its website, Konami reflected on the game’s lifecycle. "Since its launch on Apple Arcade in September 2021, the game has continued to be supported by many players," the company wrote. "However, we have decided to terminate the service [in September]." The publisher went on to thank the community, saying, "We would like to express our gratitude to all of our players for their enthusiastic support throughout the years.
The entire development and operations team sincerely thanks you for being part of this journey." Grimoire of Souls originally debuted in September 2019 as a free‑to‑play mobile title for iOS and Android, initially released only in the Canadian market. After a brief run, the game was pulled from those stores a year later. Konami then re‑introduced the title as part of Apple Arcade, expanding its availability to iOS, tvOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices.
The relaunch was accompanied by a series of substantive changes: the in‑game currency and microtransaction mechanics were stripped out, the user interface received a redesign, and the visual fidelity was upgraded to take advantage of Apple’s hardware capabilities. The decision to retire Grimoire of Souls comes amid a broader trend of online‑dependent games reaching the end of their service lives. Several other titles are also scheduled for shutdown in the coming months.
Nintendo’s Mario Kart Tour is set to go offline in September, followed by the Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem in October, and then Destruction AllStars in November. These closures reflect the challenges of maintaining live‑service games, especially when player bases shrink or when strategic priorities shift.
For fans of the Castlevania franchise, Grimoire of Souls offered a unique take on the classic vampire‑hunting lore. Rather than the traditional side‑scrolling or 3D action‑adventure format, the game presented a card‑based battle system that let players assemble teams of iconic characters from across the series.
Players could collect and upgrade cards representing heroes such as Simon Belmont, Alucard, and many others, then pit them against a variety of foes in turn‑based combat. The Apple Arcade version removed the pay‑to‑win elements that had been present in the original mobile release, aiming to provide a more balanced and skill‑driven experience. While the shutdown means that new players will no longer be able to start the game, those who have already downloaded it will retain access to the offline components, such as the story mode and any content that does not require server interaction.
However, any features that rely on online connectivity—leaderboards, multiplayer matchmaking, and periodic events—will cease to function after the September 3 cutoff. Konami’s announcement also serves as a reminder of the transient nature of digital-only titles. Unlike physical releases that can be preserved in a collector’s shelf, games that depend on cloud services are vulnerable to removal when the underlying infrastructure is retired.
Players who wish to keep a record of their progress or preserve the experience may need to look into offline alternatives or community‑driven preservation projects, though such efforts are often limited by licensing restrictions. In summary, Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls will disappear from Apple Arcade on August 20 and will become completely unplayable after September 3 when its servers are shut down.
Konami expressed appreciation for the community’s support over the years and highlighted the game’s evolution from a mobile free‑to‑play experiment to a polished, ad‑free entry in the Apple Arcade catalog. The upcoming closures of several other live‑service games underscore the shifting landscape of digital gaming, where titles may have finite lifespans tied to their online components. Players are encouraged to enjoy any remaining offline content before the final shutdown date.