A popular Final Fantasy game on iOS has just been surprisingly shut down – here’s how to get a refund

News
By published

Killed by an in-app purchase bug

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Launch
(Image credit: Square Enix)
  • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has suddenly shut down on iOS
  • Square Enix says the problem lies with an unsolvable in-app purchase bug
  • The specific problem has been speculated on by users

There’s been some surprising news in the world of Final Fantasy, as the game’s developer Square Enix recently shut down Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on iOS without a warning. The move only struck the game on iOS, with other platforms being unaffected, leaving iOS users wondering what on earth had happened.

According to Square Enix, the issue centered on in-app purchases within the game. In particular, a blog post by the company revealed that “we have been receiving reports of customers unable to access the additional content they purchased for the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.” This problem affects the full, paid version of the game too.

Unfortunately, Square Enix has taken the drastic step of shutting down the game on iOS entirely. The developer said that “Further investigation revealed that we are unable to completely fix the bug and implement the new changes, making it unlikely to resume service for the game.”

Square Enix believes the problem lies with “changes made to the in-app purchases model.” While this seems a little vague, some have speculated that the decision could be due to a recent change to Apple's in-app purchase verification. If true, this could be what has caused the disruption to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles – although it’s not clear why Square Enix couldn’t update the game to be compliant.

How to get a refund

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

(Image credit: Square Enix)

If you’ve bought in-app purchases in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on iOS and have been affected by this bug, Square Enix has laid out the steps you can take to get a refund.

To be eligible, you need to have made an in-app purchase in the game in January 2024 or later. The list of affected items includes the full version unlock, the Magic Wallet, the Memory Crystal Pack, and more. The full list can be found in Square Enix’s blog post.

To get your money back, Square Enix advises you to contact Apple Support and request a refund from them. Square Enix’s support team will be available to help until August 31, 2025.

It’s unfortunate to see the game be completely pulled from the App Store. While we would hope that Square Enix is able to find a fix, judging by the company’s own words, it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen.

You might also like

See more News about Phones
TOPICS
Alex Blake
Alex Blake
Freelance Contributor

Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.