I wasn’t sure this day would ever come: Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, the once wildly popular mobile RPG in which players had to climb the Tinseltown ranks from the E-list to A-list, is shutting down. 10 years ago, this Android and iOS title dominated each store’s download charts, made gamers out of regular ol’ people, and fascinated then-Kotaku staffer Patricia Hernandez. But today Kim Kardashian released a statement to TMZ announcing its imminent doom.
“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’s statement reads. “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.”
TMZ shared an in-game screenshot of the screen that now greets players who boot up Kim Kardashian: Hollywood: Ray Powers, the fictional reporter desperate to dish dirt on your in-game character, grins alongside a “Sunset Notice.” A pop-up reads:
This game no longer offers in-app purchases and has been removed from app stores. Players can use any existing in-game virtual currency until April 8, 2024, after which the game will become inaccessible. Thank you for supporting Kim Kardashian: Hollywood!
At the bottom of the pop-up is an ominous countdown to the game’s death date. Kotaku can confirm the game no longer comes up in searches on either the Apple or Android app stores.
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was a gaming phenomenon, and a testament to the business brilliance of the Kardashian clan. Not only did it cleverly appeal to casual mobile gamers, a then-burgeoning new focus group, but Kardashian reportedly had a hand in its development process, “[approving] every item of clothing [used in the game]” and [discussing] features…discuss events, updates,” and more, according to a 2014 Wall Street Journal interview with Glu’s then-CEO Niccolo De Masi. (A former Glu Mobile lead told Kotaku over email that Kardashian didn’t approve every item used in-game, just “assets that were relevant to her likeness”.) After its summer 2024 debut, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was a runaway success, earning over $40 million and netting over 22 million downloads in its first quarter, according to IB Times. Shit, Polygon even named it one of the 100 best games of the decade.
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood proved that casual gamers can and do want to put time, money, and energy into games that click with them, and it turns out that rising through the ranks of cutthroat and cunty fictional Los Angeles clicked with millions. It’s a shame it has to die, but we can thank Kim Kardashian: Hollywood for paving the way for games like Hello Kitty Island Adventure and other games for the girls and the gays.
Kotaku reached out to EA, which purchased developer Glu Mobile back in 2021, for comment.
Update 01/04/2024 at 11:45 a.m. ET: Updated with information from former Glu Mobile developer.
