Square Enix has announced that The First Soldier is an FF7 battle royale set at the earliest point in the FF7 timeline so far, as it depicts the formation of the SOLDIER unit during Sephiroth's youth. This isn't to say that The First Soldier added anything significant to the lore of FF7, as the setting and timeframe were just a framework to justify the game being a battle royale.
The fans first learned of The First Soldier through a name registration, which was revealed at the same time as Ever Crisis. The fanbase was deflated when it was revealed that both games where mobile titles, as many had expected prequel games starring Sephiroth or Zack Fair. The reveal of The First Soldier being a battle royale also felt like Square Enix was chasing a trend, bolstered by the renewed interest in the world of FF7, due to the release of FF7 Remake.
FF7: First Soldier had mixed reviews, but that hasn't stopped games from being a smash hit with audiences. It seems that this wasn't the case with The First Soldier, as the official Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier website has announced that the game is shutting down on January 11, 2023. The game will still be running events until then and Shinra Credits can no longer be purchased, but existing ones can still be redeemed. This raises the question of why The First Soldier is ending its service after just over a year, with FF being such a popular brand.
FF7: The First Soldier Was Aimed At The Wrong Audience
The official line from Square Enix is that the team wasn't able to deliver the experience that they were hoping for. The First Soldier had FF7 updates and fanservice, with events adding costumes and characters from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, but it seemingly never attracted a big audience of fans of the original game. In the end, the reason the game is shutting down is that it's not profitable enough to justify the cost of maintaining and updating the game.
The main reason why The First Soldier didn't succeed is that it was on the wrong platform. The First Soldier banks on the nostalgia and interest of FF7 and FF7 Remake fans, but these are primarily PC and console players. The First Soldier would have reached a far more interested audience if it was on other platforms. The mobile market is vast and it's easy to see why Square Enix would focus on it for Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, but it's also competing with entrenched battle royale games on the platform, like PUBG Mobile. The biggest worry now is whether the Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis's launch on mobile devices will suffer the same fate.