Disney announces shutdown of both Marvel: Avengers Alliance games

If you're a fan of the Marvel: Avengers Alliance series of games, you're in for some sad news: Disney has announced the shutdown of both the original and its sequel on all platforms. According to Disney, the decision to shut down Marvel: Avengers Alliance and Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2 on Windows Phone, Facebook and all other platforms was made so that the studio can focus development on "other online and mobile play experiences."

Here's the full explanation from Disney's FAQ page:

At this time, we are shifting our development focus towards other online and mobile play experiences, and a growing selection of Disney Mobile apps. We deeply appreciate your enthusiasm and loyal support for Marvel: Avengers Alliance and sincerely hope you will continue to enjoy the large variety of online and mobile play experiences Disney offers, and will bring you soon!

According to the announcement, Disney has already ceased accepting new purchases or downloads. However, both games will remain playable through September 30, the studio says. Given that the second game in the series made its debut earlier in 2016, with the Windows 10 Mobile version landing mere months ago, the timing is certainly odd. And this is likely to be sore news for those who have already poured money into the game as well.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl