Pocket Mortys to shut down after 10 years

• Pocket Mortys has been worked on by Big Pixel Studios, Tag Games and Pocket Sized Hands.
• In-app purchases have been removed from the title and everything in the game is now available for free.
• Pocket Mortys will be shut down on April 13th.

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Mobile RPG Pocket Mortys is to close down after 10 years on April 13th.

The title was first launched in January 2016 and is based on the popular Adult Swim cartoon series Rick & Morty. The title uses similar mechanics to the Pokémon franchise, with Rick capturing various Mortys and battling them against others.

News of the game’s closure was announced to players on social media. In-app purchases have been removed, with everything in the game now available for free.

Pocket Mortys history

The title was originally developed by London games maker Big Pixel Studios and launched in January 2016.

In 2018, the team was acquired by Adult Swim for an undisclosed fee. Following that deal, we visited the studio and spoke to then VP David Burpitt and lead artist Steffie Garcia about the acquisition and success of the title. In 2020, Big Pixel Studios was closed down.

Pocket Mortys has continued to operate since then. For the past five years, Scottish developer Pocket Sized Hands has worked on the title. The studio’s CEO Alan Yeats said work on the title initially started as a six-month handover project.

“After more than five years working on Pocket Mortys, our journey with this game is coming to a close. What a ride it’s been,” read a statement from Pocket Sized Hands.
 
“When we partnered with Adult Swim, we knew we were working on something special, but how it continued to scale went beyond anything we imagined. Millions of new downloads, 500,000+ monthly active players, and hundreds of new Mortys created along the way.
 
“We developed three new dimensions, including a special release timed with the Rick and Morty Anime season launch. We created hundreds of Mortys that tied directly into the TV show, with in-episode advertising driving players straight into the game afterwards.
 
“On the live ops side, we built community-favourite events like Fyre Sale and Moving Mortys that kept players engaged and coming back. We even developed sponsored content for the FDA, showing how mobile games can be a genuine platform for meaningful messaging.

“To the millions of players who joined us on this adventure, thank you. And to Adult Swim, it’s been an absolute pleasure.”