Kim Kardashian's Mobile Game Is Shutting Down. Players Aren't Happy

After ten long years, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is finally coming to an end. The mobile game, in which users become celebs and climb the social ladder to A-list status, was initially mocked as a tacky side-hustle for Kim. Those who worked on it also alleged that exploitative behind-the-scenes practices. As always, Kim laughed all the way to the bank – by 2016, KKH had already made $160 million. 

Like many mobile games, KKH made money from micro-transactions, and used the virtual currency known as “k-stars”. While many users seemingly tired of the game pretty quickly, those who stuck around for the full decade since launch logged in last week to find some of the features disabled. A “sunset notice” issued by developers Glu swiftly followed, notifying players that the game would become “inaccessible” after 8th April, 2024.

In a statement to TMZ, Kardashian said: “This journey has meant so much to me but I’ve realized that it’s time to focus that energy into other passions… I will be forever inspired by this community that we built together.”

But what about the people who have pumped a decade’s-worth of hours – and in some cases thousands of dollars – into the game?

I decided to speak to some hardcore fans, about whether they feel betrayed, and what they’ll do with their free time now – starting with the game’s number one ranked player, Anita. 

I got to the top of the game but never spent a dime on in-app purchases or back-end hacks. I would watch ads in-game to get k-stars, diamonds and energy to keep going for free.

It helped to have a terrible sleep schedule – I would wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water, open my phone and start playing. Before I knew it the sun would be coming up. 

I’ve always loved video games and played a lot of The Sims. But with KKH, if you stopped playing for a few days, or even hours, your celebrity stats would go down, so you had to log in daily. I did get bored a few times. They stopped adding new storylines to the game a year or so ago so there wasn't anything “new” to do.

Personally, I wasn’t shocked with the announcement, however I feel awful for the people who spent real currency on in-game items that will be gone forever soon.

Maybelline’s TikTok expressing her heartbreak over the end of the game has so far amassed over 8m views. 

This game has been a part of my life every day for ten years. I dress my avatar in the morning when I'm going to work, then once my kids are going to bed, I’ll play again. You never get bored because you’re never fully satisfied – you’re always saving for new clothing, makeup, houses etc. 

I never spent my own money on the game, but I would ask for k-stars as gifts from my husband for birthdays, anniversaries and so on. I’m going to guesstimate it amounted to around $5,000 over time. To be honest, I have no regrets. I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, so this is what brought me pleasure.

My only regret is that I spent a Christmas gift card from my husband on k-stars a few days before the announcement. I obviously wouldn’t have done that if I knew the game was ending! 

I only started playing a few years ago, around 2019. I’m now in the top 100.

This game was filled with some drama, but it was pretty wholesome. It almost felt like watching Geordie Shore, or Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but less taxing. 

While I cannot recount every single pound I spent, it was definitely in the hundreds. Whenever you opened the game you had pop-ups of new exclusive clothing you could buy with real money, or you had Kollections – which were gacha-like mechanics, where you spent some premium currency and the game randomised what you were getting. I also had one of the premium monthly memberships.

“Betrayed" is a very strong word, but I would definitely say that I feel like Glu/EA went behind players' backs. To be fair, they did give us four months to tie loose ends, but also I feel like there should be some expectancy for mobile games to keep going as players have spent money. I saw somebody installed the game in mid-December, spent a lot of money on it and now the game is closing down.

I started playing 10 years ago, a few months after the game initially came out. For the first seven years I didn’t spend any money. To date I’ve spent a little over $260.

I have ADHD so I tend to hyperfocus on exciting new things that give me instant gratification, such as completing gigs, earning prizes, outfits, and a higher ranking. 

I understand mobile games don't last forever but the way they went about it was such a slap in the face. This is what ten years of loyalty gets us? It feels like a bad breakup where I didn't get the closure I wanted.

On the flip side, maybe this will be the push I need to crack open one of the many unread books I have sitting in a pile. 

I downloaded KKH the night it dropped in June of 2014. I was 16. In real life I was sleeping on the couch. In the game I had entire houses and beautiful closets, fame and fortune.

It honestly makes me want to cry thinking about how I won’t be able to open up the app and see my character. It’s been me and her for 10 years. It’s really like grieving the loss of a friend.

Quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Some names have been changed to protect interviewee privacy.

@iamhelenthomas