Is the shuttering of Kim Kardashian’s mobile game the end of the ‘influencer genre’?

If you’re like me, a week ago you didn’t know any more than you wanted to about the Kardashians and were probably happy that way. But over the past few days, you’ve probably also seen more than a few articles, like this one from Vice, popping up regarding the sunsetting of a certain mobile game involving family alumni Kim.

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is, or rather was, a mobile game created by Glu Mobile and themed around everyone’s favourite bizarrely famous for no-discernible-reason celebrity, Kim Kardashian. Surprisingly, it was also raking in millions of dollars monthly - although pennies compared to heavy-hitters like Angry Birds or Candy Crush it’s still not an amount to be sniffed at.

I don’t think it’s controversial, or groundbreaking, to say I’ve never understood the appeal behind the Kardashian family. Yes, the obvious interpersonal drama is at play like you’d see in any reality show. But how exactly does that rake in so many lucrative sponsorships for individuals like Kim? Maybe people just find fame inherently interesting, or something like that, I guess.

But regardless of what you think of the game or its quality, it was one of Glu Mobile’s most successful franchises. We actually charted the rise, fall and rise again of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood over on our sister site PocketGamer.biz, and it makes for a fascinating insight into how mobile games work.

Not Keeping up with the Kardashians

Still, those with an irrational hatred of the Kardashians - which is equally as bizarre to me as an irrational love for them - will be pleased to know that KK: HW is closing its doors. Glu Mobile was always a loss-making company (not profitable), with its last money-making quarter being sometime back in 2015. But it’s still weird to think that for the last decade, this game has been a cornerstone of the studio.

Sadly, Glu Mobile, owned by EA - we’ll leave the implication unspoken - have ditched this title despite its success. We can only assume that this has partially to do with the performance of the studio, but it could also be blamed on the slackening of interest in influencer-led games. Which isn’t to say Glu Mobile didn’t hit the mark for the better part of a decade.

After all, we’ve seen bigger companies like Square Enix ditch games like Echoes of Mana after less than a year. So maybe the Kardashian devs were doing something right?

Conversely, maybe it’s other things that have changed in the meantime. When we were chatting about this around the virtual office cooler, our editor Dann brought up the Fyre Festival. If you don’t know what that is, the bottom line is that it was a disastrous music festival that turned into a minor humanitarian crisis. A major point of criticism was of the influencers that had played a part in generating so much hype for it.

Influencers took the brunt of the backlash, mainly because it transpired most of those paid to mention the festival during their regular streams and other appearances weren’t even planning on going. In the aftermath regulators like the FTC would crack down on undeclared sponsorships and other brand integration (mentions, background appearances etc.) used by influencers.

Nowadays, influencers have to tread lightly if they don’t want to get embroiled in damaging lawsuits, and we’ve yet to see another celebrity like Kardashian feature in their own dedicated title. Maybe the reason that Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is now shuttering is not just that it isn’t making enough money, but that we’ve genuinely moved into a new era of influencer and celebrity appearances in mobile games. Nowadays it seems everyone and their mother is making a guest appearance in games, from MrBeast to Jake Paul, to boost their own personal brand.

It could be argued that the era of celebrities having games built around them has long since come to an end, and the shuttering of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is representative of that. It seems like it’s all about guest appearances and collaborations, for better or for worse. Changing times, or changing audiences? Either way, things aren’t the same as they were when the game was first released in 2014.

Or maybe I’m reading too much into this. But when outlets like Forbes are running think-pieces on the lessons you can learn from a Kim Kardashian mobile game, it does make you wonder what this dinky little social-climbing simulator tells us about the state of mobile gaming. The cynical take would be to look at it as a shallow cash grab, but I think it shows more. It shows that everyone, even the kind of people who watch the Kardashians, is on mobile. And that no matter what even the most bizarre concept can find a loyal and dedicated audience.

Is that good or bad? Well, you’ll have to decide for yourself.