SEGA Makes Classic Mobile Games Free Before Discontinuation

SEGA has announced it will soon discontinue support for a number of its classic mobile games available through the SEGA Forever program, a long-running initiative aimed at bringing retro SEGA titles to Android and iOS devices. Ahead of their removal, the company has made these games free to download, offering fans a final opportunity to add them to their library.

The affected titles include popular legacy games from across SEGA’s catalog, such as Sonic CD Classic, Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Shining Force, Streets of Rage, Virtua Tennis Challenge, and Super Monkey Ball: Sakura Edition. Many of these were previously paid apps or included ads with in-app purchases to remove them, but are now completely free for a limited time.

The change was not formally announced via SEGA’s press channels or social media. Instead, users began receiving in-game notifications stating:
“Support for this game will be discontinued, but you can continue playing offline.”
These messages also direct players to SEGA’s official website for information on other available titles.

Importantly, the games will remain playable offline even after being removed from app stores—provided they are downloaded in advance. This policy mirrors SEGA’s approach to previously discontinued SEGA Forever titles like Phantasy Star Classics and Vectorman Classic.

The SEGA Forever initiative, launched to bring the company’s classic games to modern mobile devices with enhancements such as touch controls and controller support, had not seen any new releases since 2019 and was officially discontinued in 2023.

Although the mobile ports often received mixed feedback regarding emulation quality, they were widely downloaded and gave fans easy access to SEGA’s retro library. The decision to sunset these titles marks the final phase of the program.