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Yu-Gi-Oh Cross Duel set to close its doors only a year after release

Yu-Gi-Oh Cross Duel set to close its doors only a year after release

After launching only a handful of months ago in September of 2022, one of the dozens of entries into the popular Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel is due to shut its doors come September of this year. Not seeing the success that its sister title Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel has seen, Cross Duel will end all support for the game after only being open to the public for just shy of a year.

I’ve written a fair few articles about different games that announced their end of service, and they’re always a bit of a bummer, but one that only had about a year to shine always cuts a little deeper. While I personally haven’t experienced Cross Duel for myself, it’s safe to say that there’s always a pocket of gamers who enjoy whichever release, and this type of news is surely a bummer for them.

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Of course, this news isn’t too terribly bad given how there’s a perfectly reasonable and excellent option for Cross Duel fans who feel let down by the announcement. Master Duel, the sibling title to Cross Duel, is a wild success within the mobile and PC market alike and transfers the beautifully chaotic nature of the Yu-Gi-Oh card game to a digital format with ease.

Still, those of you who have been dedicated to Cross Duel are likely to feel a little sad. Developer Konami does have some other good news for you guys though! Despite stopping any in-game real money purchases, there will be a wide assortment of login bonuses and gifts given out to players between now and the end of service date, which is set for September 4th, 2023 at 5:00 UTC.

So, while the game will be removed from storefronts and cease support fully come that date, there’s still some room to play around with all the cards and decks you desire, basically for free! If you’d like to do so, you can still download Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel for free at either of the links below!

Looking for another card-based battler to fill the void once Cross Duel shuts down? Check out our Top 10 best collectable card games for iOS!
Connor Derrick
Connor Derrick
Connor is a diehard JRPG fan and an equally diehard fan of writing. When he isn’t putting 100+ hours into the latest Atlus release, he’s playing board games with his partner or blasting a mid-2000s punk record. Music, film, writing, and games are his biggest passions, and he hopes to one day unite all of those in some way or another.