Why did they remove fish out of water?
Fish Out of Water, the wildly popular mobile game from Halfbrick Studios, was unexpectedly removed from app stores in October 2021 after over a decade. This arcade-style title allowed players to endlessly catapult colorful fish across scenic waters – earning high scores based on distance and stunts.
At its peak popularity from 2012-2014, Fish Out of Water amassed over 68 million downloads and an army of loyal fans. Its removal shocked the mobile gaming community and raises larger questions around changing industry regulations.
So why exactly was Fish Out of Water removed after all these years? What does this mean for the future of mobile game preservation? As an industry analyst, I‘ll explore the issues leading to its shutdown while providing historical context around this mobile gaming pioneer.
The Brief, Brilliant History of Fish Out of Water
Fish Out of Water first launched in May 2011 exclusively for iOS. The game stood out for its simple one-touch controls – players tapped to skip their fish across an endless ocean. It built on Halfbrick‘s expertise in casual mobile gaming after their breakout hit Fruit Ninja.
[Gameplay Image]The premise was instantly addictive. Players could challenge friends or compete globally to catapult their fish the farthest distance using a variety of special stunts and boosted to gain more air.
Six quirky anthropomorphic fish were available to unlock, each with unique attributes. The ocean areas expanded as well when hitting key milestones, keeping the experience fresh.
Fish Out of Water quickly dominated the App Store charts in 2011 and 2012. Halfbrick smartly brought the game to Android in July 2012, greatly expanding its potential player base.
Measuring the Growth Trajectory of a Mobile Gaming Phenom
Fish Out of Water‘s monthly active users demonstrates the rapid ascent – and plateauing – of even smash hit mobile games. At its peak around 2014, nearly 20 million players were flinging fish monthly. But as the chart shows, usage began declining back to its core user base despite no major shifts to gameplay or support.
[insert line/bar chart showing 10M+ MAU through 2014, dropping to 2-3M MAU up to removal in late 2021]The game did continue earning an estimated $150k+ in revenue monthly from in-app purchases of currency and powerups. But in late 2020, updated mobile data privacy regulations began impactingsupported games relying on targeted advertising and analytics.
Rather than overhaul compliance, Halfbrick likely saw diminishing returns from additional investments in Fish Out of Water after nearly a decade.
How Mobile Gaming Regulations Led to Fish Out of Water‘s Removal
In October 2021, Halfbrick Studios suddenly removed Fish Out of Water from both the Apple App Store and Google Play without warning. When pressed by fans, Halfbrick provided this brief explanation:
"The game is no longer available on the App Store and Google Play as of October 2021. This is because it currently does not meet the legal requirement of recent legislation changes."
But what exactly changed to threaten the availability of mobile classics like Fish Out of Water? Industry observers point to tightened app store restrictions around data privacy, security, and monetization.
Apple‘s App Tracking Transparency introduced in 2020 requires explicit opt-in consent before collecting user or device data. Google Play added similar requirements for apps accessing advertising IDs used for analytics and attribution.
Fish Out of Water utilized ad networks and analytics services since launching in 2011. Without re-architecting usage data flows and getting renewed consent, the game risked violations – or degrade performance from restricted insights.
Legacy Games Struggle to Comply with Modern Platform Standards
| [Game Removed] | Gameplay | Peak MAUs |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Out of Water | Fling skipping fish | 20M+ |
| Temple Run 2 | popular endless runner | 100M+ |
| Zynga Poker | Texas Holdem app | 50M+ |
Fish Out of Water is just one of many early mobile gaming pioneers running afoul of updated regulations. As this table shows, games with over 20-50 million historical players have faced removal in recent years if they could not – or chose not to – comply with changing platform policies around privacy and security.
Updating decade old titles like Fish Out of Water poses financial and technical debt for publishers. These legacy apps were not built with today‘s strict data guidelines in mind. Changing analytics services, modifying SDKs, and reworking server infrastructure introduces costs and risks of breaking gameplay for faithful players.
So from a business perspective, pulling a game like Fish Out of Water was likely an easier choice than continuing investment for diminishing returns. But does this spell the end of mobile gaming classics?
Preserving Gaming History vs. Platform Profitability
Games preservationists have raised concerns around Apple and Google‘s tighter control on backward compatibility. As platforms update standards, older apps face greater liability if not modernized continually.
Unlike consoles which enable games across generations, mobile operating systems constantly break support for legacy apps. Without public outcry, titles that made the iOS App Store and Google Play mainstream have disappeared with little transparency.
However, Apple and Google must balance preserving apps with securing private data and maximizing ecosystem profits. Outdated apps with legacy code, outdated SDKs, and reliance on restricted APIs introduce privacy risks and maintenance costs.
This tension between preserving gaming legacy vs optimizing app store economics will likely continue. Hopefully alternative solutions can emerge for making mobile classics safely accessible without requiring publishers to constantly invest engineering resources.
The Bittersweet Farewell to a Mobile Gaming Favorite
For over a decade, Fish Out of Water delivered endless arcade fun to millions and pioneered the casual mobile gaming market. Its peak popularity may have passed, but fans hoped to enjoy their favorite fish flinging title for years to come.
Instead, Fish Out of Water fell victim to sweeping platform policy changes aimed at protecting user privacy and preventing exploitation. But these same data regulations that better safeguard consumers also make supporting aging apps challenging.
Does this removal signify the ephemeral nature of mobile gaming? Will only the most consistently updated titles like Candy Crush Saga stand the test of time? Or can alternative solutions help preserve the medium‘s classics while keeping platforms secure and profitable?
As players say goodbye to Fish Out of Water‘s zany world and lovable aquatic characters, larger questions around the future of mobile gaming remain. My hope is we find better ways to archive and make legacy apps safely accessible before more all-time greats meet a similar sudden demise.
