Black Clover News Roundup: Mobile Game Ends Service, Anime Set for Return
Black Clover is a popular fantasy adventure manga series written by Yūki Tabata that debuted in Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 2015. It follows the story of Asta, a boy born without magic in a world where magic is everything, as he strives to become the Wizard King. Over the past decade, the series has grown into a global hit with over 19 million copies in circulation as of 2023. Its success led to a 170-episode anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot (airing from 2017 to 2021) and even an anime film in 2023 titled Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King. Now in mid-2025, Black Clover fans are witnessing both an unfortunate ending and an exciting new beginning: a mobile game based on the series is shutting down, but the long-awaited return of the anime is on the horizon. This news roundup will break down both developments in separate sections below.
Black Clover Mobile Game “Rise of the Wizard King” Shutting Down
An official end-of-service announcement image for Black Clover M: Rise of the Wizard King, featuring protagonists Asta (front) and Yuno (back).
The mobile game Black Clover M: Rise of the Wizard King is set to shut down its servers and end service globally on August 21, 2025 (with the Japanese version closing a day earlier on August 20). This free-to-play mobile RPG, developed by Vic Game Studios and published by Garena, launched in Japan in May 2023 and later saw a worldwide release in November 2023. The shutdown announcement comes less than two years after the game’s launch, a surprisingly abrupt end for a title based on such a popular franchise.
According to the official notice, in-game purchases and new account registrations were disabled as of June 20, 2025, and the final update rolled out on June 26, 2025. That last update included special content inspired by the Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King movie, a concluding in-game event, and even the release of two new playable characters to give fans a bit of final excitement. The developers also set up a “Currency Transfer Program” to support players who still have paid currency left in their accounts: unused Premium Black Crystals (the game’s paid currency) can be transferred to certain other Garena titles between August 21 and September 25, 2025. This gesture at least lets dedicated players carry over some value to other games even after Black Clover M shuts down.
Notably, the development team expressed heartfelt gratitude to the player community. In their farewell message, they acknowledged the “challenges of launching and closing an online game” and admitted the game’s lifecycle was “shorter than they’d hoped.” They thanked fans for the “engagement, love, and passionate criticism” that shaped the game and said they will treasure the memories made during its run. However, the announcement did not explicitly cite any specific reason for the early shutdown of the service.
In the absence of an official explanation, many observers suspect that the game may have underperformed. Modern gacha games based on popular anime usually aim to sustain a large player base and steady revenue, but Black Clover M possibly struggled to meet those expectations. Reports indicate the title generated roughly $2 million on iOS and $800,000 on Android in its primary markets (Japan and Korea), which is relatively modest for a licensed mobile RPG. For context, other big-name anime mobile games often earn far more, and the costs of ongoing development, licensing, and live service support are high. A combination of low revenue and player drop-off likely contributed to the decision to end the game’s service earlier than planned. Regardless of the cause, the shutdown news has been disappointing for fans who enjoyed Rise of the Wizard King. The game offered players the chance to collect and battle with their favorite characters like Asta, Yuno, Noelle, and others in a magical adventure mirroring the manga’s storyline. With the plug being pulled in August, players have only a short window left to experience the game’s world before bidding it farewell.
On the bright side, while the mobile game’s journey is ending, the Black Clover franchise has something else in store to keep fans excited — and it’s happening on the anime front.
Black Clover Anime Returns After Four-Year Hiatus
Teaser poster for the newly announced Black Clover anime season, revealed at Anime Expo 2025: Asta in a new powered-up form that will appear in the upcoming arc.
After a four-year break, Black Clover’s anime adaptation is officially making a comeback. The exciting announcement was made during Crunchyroll’s industry panel at Anime Expo 2025 in early July. The streaming platform confirmed that Black Clover will return with a brand-new anime season, with Studio Pierrot (the studio behind the original series) once again handling the animation production. Attendees at the panel were treated to a brief teaser trailer as well as a special message from creator Yūki Tabata, who thanked fans for supporting the series through its 10th anniversary. This news has reignited the fandom, as it promises to finally continue the story that left anime-only viewers on the edge of their seats back in 2021.
To recap, the first Black Clover TV series aired from October 2017 to March 2021 and concluded after 170 episodes. The final episode ended at a pivotal moment, leaving Asta and his allies preparing for a major confrontation with the Dark Triad of the Spade Kingdom — essentially a massive cliffhanger in the middle of the saga. The reason the anime stopped at that point was that it had caught up almost completely with the manga’s storyline (which was then still ongoing). Rather than resort to indefinite filler arcs, the producers chose to pause the adaptation until there was a sufficient buffer of new manga content. In the interim, fans only had the 2023 movie (Sword of the Wizard King) as new animated content, while the manga continued in print. Now, with the manga currently in its final arc and releasing chapters on a spread-out schedule, enough material has accumulated to resume the anime without worrying about overtaking the source material.
The newly announced anime season is expected to pick up where the first series left off, covering the intense “Spade Kingdom Raid” arc and beyond. In fact, the first key visual/poster for the revival (shown at Anime Expo) features Asta with a dramatic new transformation that manga readers will recognize from his post-time-skip training — a clear hint that the story will dive straight into the long-awaited battles ahead. Studio Pierrot’s return to the project also suggests that the production will maintain continuity in terms of art style and voice cast. However, unlike the original run which aired new episodes almost every week, the revival may adopt a seasonal release model (with planned cour lengths and breaks in between). Studio Pierrot’s president previously indicated a shift toward seasonal scheduling for big shōnen titles, following the success of titles like Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, to ensure higher quality animation and avoid burnout. This means Black Clover could come back as a series of seasonal installments rather than a continuous year-round broadcast, which is good news for production values and pacing.
As of now, no specific release date or window has been announced for the new Black Clover episodes. The announcement at Anime Expo was an initial confirmation, so details like the premiere date will likely be revealed in the coming months. What we do know is that Crunchyroll will be streaming the new season internationally once it launches, just as it did for the original series. This makes sense, since Crunchyroll was directly involved in announcing the return. Fans around the world can rest assured that they’ll be able to watch the new episodes online through that platform when the time comes. In the meantime, Crunchyroll has also encouraged newcomers and longtime fans to catch up or rewatch the first series (all 170 episodes are available on their service) in preparation for the continuation.
The return of the anime is a momentous event for the series’ 10th anniversary celebration. In a message shared at the panel, author Yūki Tabata expressed his enthusiasm and gratitude. He said he is “beyond ecstatic” about the new anime season and promised to “keep this hype going” into the 10th year of Black Clover. Tabata also mentioned that the upcoming season will be “powered-up” and brought to fans by an “awesome anime production staff”, thanking supporters in Japan and around the world for making this possible. This heartfelt note from the creator reassures fans that the original author is fully on board with the anime’s continuation and confident in the team handling it.
Mixed News for Fans, but Hope on the Horizon
In summary, it’s a bittersweet time for Black Clover enthusiasts. On one hand, the abrupt shutdown of Black Clover M: Rise of the Wizard King is a disappointing development for those who enjoyed the mobile game’s magic-infused adventures. The game had offered a fun way to engage with the Black Clover universe interactively, so seeing it end after a short run is unfortunate. On the other hand, the beloved anime is finally coming back after a long hiatus, which is fantastic news for the wider fanbase of the manga and original show. Many fans who have been waiting since 2021 will soon get to see Asta and the Black Bulls back in animated action, presumably picking up right where the story left off.
For manga readers, this anime return is perfectly timed with the manga’s endgame, potentially allowing the series to conclude in both print and on screen in the not-too-distant future. For anime-only viewers, it means answers to unresolved plot threads and the thrill of new battles and characters that have only been hinted at so far. And for gamers who were invested in the mobile game, while that chapter closes, the anime’s revival might soften the blow by keeping the world of Black Clover alive in another medium. All in all, the franchise remains very much active — when one door closes, another opens. Black Clover’s magic will continue to burn strong on our screens, even as it bows out on our smartphones.