Gears POP! reportedly shutting down next year, after less than two years

Gears POP!
Gears POP! (Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

  • Gears POP! was a quirky mobile game mash-up of the gritty Gears universe with Funko's signature figures.
  • Today, the news is gently breaking that Gears POP! is intending to shut down next year.
  • This is thanks to a smattering of still-faithful users to who are sharing Gears POP!'s farewell message.
  • The official closing date is April 26, 2021, which means Gears POP! will never celebrate its second birthday.

Some strange sad news coming out today is that Gears POP!, a wacky mobile game that mashed together the storied and gritty Gears franchise with mobile game mechanics (and microtransactions) with the popular toy figures from Funko, appears to be set to close down sometime next year. The news broke thanks to a handful of players who are still visiting the one-off title, like Twitter user @FinalKaos below.

Gears POP! was a strange game, for sure, and represented another attempt by a large gaming company to try and break into the supremely competitive (and profitable) mobile gaming arena, which Microsoft is still in thanks to titles like Minecraft and Forza Street. Gears POP! players may see this message next time they log into the game:

Thank you Gears! Together we have taken on countless waves of Horde and vanquished foes on the Versus battlefield but sadly Gears Pop! is closing on APril 26, 2021. Until that time, we're bringing back some of our most popular events, increasing Bounty rewards and upping the drop rates for Legendary Pins. Effective immediately, in-app purchasing has also been disabled. Thank you for your understanding and support.

While there are undoubtedly still players who will be upset by this decision, and Gears POP! is closing down surprisingly quickly, even for a mobile game, the Gears franchise is stronger than ever. With next-gen gaming being heralded by the upcoming Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, Gears 5 embraces the power with a huge update and tons of enhancements, while Gears Tactics will make its debut on consoles as an Xbox Series X and S launch title. Both Gears titles and their next-gen updates will be available through Xbox Game Pass.

Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.