Celebrity-focused mobile games generally don’t have a lot of long-term appeal with players. Taylor Swift’s effort, called The Swift Life, called it quits after just a year or so. Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj fell short as well.
That makes Kim Kardashian’s success in the space even more remarkable. For 10 years, players have been logging into Kim Kardashian’s Hollywood. But come April, the game will call it quits for good.
Publisher Glu Mobile (which is now owned by Electronic Arts) has confirmed plans to sunset the game. The app has already been removed from the Apple App Store and the Google Play store and will no longer be playable after April 8.
The free-to-play game, launched in 2014, let players seek A-list stardom in a virtual Hollywood, with Kardashian acting as an in-game mentor. Players would book modeling and acting jobs, make public appearances, and go on dates. They could also buy new outfits using in-game currency.
The game’s model worked, bringing in $1.6 million in its first five days and topping mobile sales charts. Within two years, it had sales topping $156 million.
"I'm so grateful from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has loved and played Kim Kardashian: Hollywood in the past 10 years,” Kardashian told TMZ. “This journey has meant so much to me but I’ve realized that it’s time to focus that energy into other passions. I want to thank the Glu team and the many people behind the scenes who have worked diligently on making it a success. I will be forever inspired by this community that we built together."
The game might be going away, but the player base remains dedicated. Before Glu had even officially announced the end of the game, but once it was no longer offering regular updates, a petition was started to bring it back. Other players are discussing wearing an outfit to the game’s “funeral” in the coming months.
