Konami has officially confirmed that its Apple Arcade title, Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, will be taken offline next month. The game, which has been available exclusively through Apple’s subscription service since its relaunch, will first be removed from the Apple Arcade catalog on August 20. After that date, players will no longer be able to download or reinstall the title.
The final shutdown is scheduled for September 3, at which point the servers that power the game will be turned off and the experience will become completely unplayable for anyone who still has it installed. In a statement posted on Konami’s website, the company reflected on the game’s history and expressed appreciation for its community. "Since its launch on Apple Arcade in September 2021, the game has continued to be supported by many players," the statement read. "However, we have decided to terminate the service [in September]." The publisher went on to thank its fan base, 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." To understand why this decision matters, it helps to look back at the origins of Grimoire of Souls. The title first appeared in September 2019 as a free‑to‑play mobile game for iOS and Android, initially released only in Canada. That early version featured a traditional free‑to‑play model, complete with in‑game currency, microtransactions, and a monetisation system that encouraged players to spend real money to accelerate progress. After roughly a year of operation, the original mobile iteration was discontinued, and Konami began planning a new direction for the property.
In September 2021, the game resurfaced as an Apple Arcade exclusive, this time available on a broader range of Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPadOS, tvOS, and macOS. The transition to Apple Arcade meant a fundamental shift in the business model: the game became entirely free of ads and microtransactions, relying instead on the subscription revenue shared among Apple’s curated titles. Konami took the opportunity to overhaul the experience, stripping out the in‑game currency system, redesigning user interfaces, and upgrading the visual fidelity to better match the capabilities of modern Apple hardware.
These changes were intended to provide a smoother, more immersive experience that aligned with the expectations of Apple Arcade subscribers. Grimoire of Souls is not the only title facing an imminent shutdown. Konami disclosed that several other games in its portfolio are slated for removal in the coming months.
Mario Kart Tour, the mobile racing game from Nintendo, is set to cease operations in September. Following that, Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem will be taken offline in October, and Sony’s Destruction AllStars will follow in November.
This wave of closures reflects a broader industry trend where publishers periodically retire online services for games that no longer meet financial or strategic goals, often citing declining player numbers, rising maintenance costs, or a shift in focus toward newer projects. For players who have invested time in Grimoire of Souls, the shutdown means that any progress, unlocked characters, or saved data will be lost once the servers go dark.
Because the game’s core mechanics rely on cloud‑based services for multiplayer matchmaking and certain in‑game features, there is no offline mode that can preserve the experience after the official termination date. Konami has not announced any compensation or migration path for existing players, so the community is encouraged to enjoy the remaining weeks while they can.
The decision to end support for a game that has been part of Apple Arcade for nearly three years may come as a surprise to some, but it aligns with the typical lifecycle of subscription‑based titles. Apple Arcade curates a rotating library, and developers often rotate out older games to make room for fresh experiences that can attract new subscribers.
From Konami’s perspective, reallocating resources to upcoming projects or other active franchises may provide a better return on investment than maintaining a legacy title with a shrinking active user base. In summary, Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls will be delisted from Apple Arcade on August 20, and its online services will be permanently shut down on September 3. The publisher has thanked its community for years of support, and the game’s removal is part of a larger pattern of service terminations affecting several other mobile and subscription titles in the near future. Players are advised to finish any remaining gameplay before the shutdown, as the experience will no longer be accessible after the server closure.