Developer Akatsuki Games announced that it’s ending services forTribe Nineon July 22, 2025. The news came as a shock to many gamers who started playingwhen it first launched in February of this year, especially sinceTribe Ninesuccessfully gained 10 million downloadsin less than a month. Many also cited that they had high expectations for it because of its action-packed gameplay and vibrant cast of characters.
In astatement, Akatsuki Games apologized toTribe Ninefans for the game’s end of service. While it assured players that they could still enjoyTribe Nine, the developer would not be providing story and gameplay updates anymore. The shutdown of live-service games is always sad for both developers and fans, but withTribe NinehavingDanganronpacreator Kazutaka Kodaka on board for its world-building, it might still have a fighting chance to become a standalone title.
Tribe Nine Can Be More Than Just a Gacha Game
Tribe Nineis an action RPG that follows protagonist Yo Kuronaka and his peers as they fight to overcome formidable foes in the deadly XG (Extreme Games) in Neo Tokyo. What made it more exciting for many gamers is the fact that it’s a free-to-play gacha title, meaning it’s accessible for anyone who wants to experience its exciting story.Tribe Nineespecially resonated withDanganronpafansbecause of the similarities in character design and story beats. Before its end of service announcement,Tribe Nineintroduced its last playable character named Hinagiku Akiba, who was released in April 2025. It was also supposed to launch Chapter 4 of the story in a future update, which Akatsuki Games has now canceled.
Beyond the gacha mechanics,Tribe Nineis an exciting action RPG that’s definitely worth exploring as a standalone game. It has a slasher-type combat andparty system that can be compared to the likes ofPersona 5 Strikers, where players are encouraged to try out different characters and experiment with different combos.Tribe Ninealso has a really deep roster of playable characters with unique abilities, so there’s no shortage of team compositions and stories if Akatsuki Games were to turn it into an offline title.
In terms ofTribe Nine’s story, it’s been likened to theDanganronpafranchise because of the group of young characters fighting for their lives in Neo Tokyo. Its portrayal of violence during combat is also set in a vibrant color palette thatDanganronpafans would recognize in the brutal Class Trial executions. WhileTribe Nineisn’t, in any way, part of theDanganronpauniverse, it could bring something new for fans of action-packed gameplay with rich storylines and exciting explorations.
Akatsuki Games revivingTribe Nineas an offline game would also allow it to complete the game’s universe. As mentioned, the developer had to cancel the rollout of the remainder ofTribe Nine’s story due to its service ending. It’s always a challenge when a live-service game with deep lore abruptly shuts down without tying loose ends. It’s especially frustrating when a game hasn’t had enough time to showcase everything fans wanted to see, which is similar towhat happened withMultiVersus.WithTribe Nine, there is an opportunity to collect the best ideas and elements to potentially build up a non-gacha title in order to givefans the opportunity to play the game to completion.
The gacha model is popular nowadays because of many players' willingness to spend money on the characters and cosmetics that they like.Atlus Games has dabbled in it too withPersona 5: The Phantom X, which features an alternate version of the Phantom Thieves and lets players pull for new characters. On the downside, there are also gacha games, likeTribe Nine, that don’t work out. It’s still unknown ifTribe Nine’s earnings were on a downward slope, but there could be hope - however unlikely - for the action RPG to rise up from the ashes.
