Square Enix abandons microtransaction-packed Final Fantasy kart racer after just 9 months

Chocobo GP
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Chocobo GP, a kart racing spinoff of the Final Fantasy series, is already done getting updates after launching March 10 of this year – 286 days ago, to be exact.

On Wednesday, Square Enix announced that Chocobo GP won't get any more "large scale updates, (e.g. new characters or new maps)" after season 5, which is live now. The game will still be playable for the foreseeable future, and rankings will continue without prize pass levels as they do between seasons, but the post-launch development stage is effectively over.

The publisher didn't give a reason for abandoning the kart racer after just nine months, but it's worth noting that the game's reception has been tainted by what some see as an overly grindy battle pass and egregious microtransactions, and post-launch adjustments to monetization arrived too late for many. Ultimately, it sounds like the game didn't perform to expectations, so Square is quietly sunsetting it.

Mythril, Chocobo GP's premium in-game currency, is no longer for sale. However, you will be able to use any remaining mythril you've already purchased at the in-game store until January 6, at which point the store will disappear and all mythril will be invalid.

Since season 5 just started, you'll still see new items being added to the mythril shop during the course of the season, but "the same items may also be added to the ticket or gil shops at the same time and become available to obtain without spending mythril," Square says.

"We hope you continue to enjoy Chocobo GP," the publisher concludes.

Looking to burn some rubber over the holidays? Here are the best racing games to play right now.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.