Konami has officially confirmed that its title Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls will be taken offline next month, marking the end of the game’s presence on Apple Arcade. The service will first remove the game from the Apple Arcade catalog on August 20, and then fully shut down the servers on September 3, at which point the game will become completely unplayable for anyone who has not already downloaded it. In a statement posted on the company’s website, Konami reflected on the game’s history and its decision to end support.
"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 company also took the opportunity to thank its community.
"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," the announcement added. Grimoire of Souls originally debuted in September 2019 as a free‑to‑play title for iOS and Android devices, initially rolling out only in Canada. After a brief run, the game was discontinued a year later.
Konami later revived the title by bringing it to Apple’s ecosystem—iOS, tvOS, iPadOS, and macOS—through a subscription to Apple Arcade. In this re‑release, the publisher stripped out the original in‑game currency and microtransaction model, overhauled the user interface, and upgraded the visual presentation to meet modern standards. The decision to retire Grimoire of Souls follows a broader trend of mobile and streaming games reaching the end of their operational life cycles.
In the coming months, several other titles are also slated for shutdown. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Tour is scheduled to cease operations in September, followed by the Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem service in October, and the Destruction AllStars experience in November. For players who have yet to download Grimoire of Souls, the August 20 delisting means the game will no longer appear in the Apple Arcade storefront, and any existing installations will lose online functionality after September 3.
Those who have already saved a copy can still play offline versions, if the game’s architecture permits it, but most features—particularly any online multiplayer components—will be disabled. The removal of the title also signals the end of an era for a game that blended classic Castlevania aesthetics with a card‑collecting mechanic.
Grimoire of Souls allowed players to assemble decks of characters from the broader Castlevania universe, each with unique abilities, and battle through a series of stages. The game’s shift from a micro‑transaction driven model to a subscription‑only offering was part of a larger industry movement toward more player‑friendly monetization, especially on platforms like Apple Arcade that promise ad‑free, no‑extra‑cost experiences.
While the shutdown may disappoint fans who enjoyed the strategic deck‑building aspect, Konami’s statement suggests that the decision was driven by practical considerations such as server maintenance costs and the desire to allocate resources to newer projects. The company has not indicated any plans to preserve the game in an offline‑only format, nor have they announced any direct replacements for the unique gameplay loop that Grimoire of Souls offered. In summary, Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls will be removed from Apple Arcade on August 20, with all online services terminating on September 3.
The move is part of a wave of game closures affecting multiple titles across different platforms. Players are encouraged to download the game before the delisting date if they wish to retain any offline capability, and to keep an eye on future announcements from Konami regarding new releases or updates to existing franchises.