Square Enix has announced that Dragon Quest of the Stars is shutting down after only a year of service, as the game will officially cease to function at the end of June. This is a pretty dismal showing for a live-service game that the publisher previously implied would be a years-long venture that players could rely on for a much longer period of time, but these risk-averse decisions come with the live-service territory.
Dragon Quest of the Stars is a mobile title that was criticized for its gacha elements, which are a core part of its gameplay loop. The story involves a galaxy-hopping trip across the universe, where the player encounters the bosses and heroes from different Dragon Quest games. The gameplay was mostly automatic, as battles play out with minimal player interaction. It was possible to empower party by giving them better gear, and the best way to do that was by spending real-world cash on things like the Star and random item draws.
It seems likely that Dragon Quest of the Stars didn't capture the imagination of series fans in the way that Square Enix. A new message on the official money on Dragon Quest of the Stars over the past year, and now all of their content is going away.
It's likely that the game didn't take off due to how it attempts to coast on nostalgia for the Dragon Quest franchise, and it evidently may not have been enough to a global playerbase on its own. Part of the appeal of Dragon Quest of the Stars is that it brings back the classic characters from the series. Dragon Quest is a national phenomenon in Japan, while it's still finding an audience in the West. The appeal of fighting alongside characters like Erdrick isn't as strong outside of Japan, so there isn't as much appeal to the wider mobile gaming audience.
Genshin Impact has been hugely popular around the world. Where Genshin Impact succeeded is that it made the base game fun, to the point where people would want to spend money on it. Dragon Quest of the Stars may have gotten that approach backwards, which could very well be why it will soon be shutting its doors.
Dragon Quest of the Stars will go offline on June 30, 2021.
Source: Dragon Quest of the Stars