The global version of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War is ending service. Developer and operator UserJoy posted the notice on October 28: the game's servers and "all game services" shut down on November 30, 2026, at 14:00 UTC+8. In US time zones that's the night of November 29: 10 PM Pacific, or 1 AM Eastern on the 30th.
That's about a month's notice, and the in-game store closed the same day the notice went up.
What already stopped
According to the English notice, quoted in full by Raider King, all in-game top-ups and paid purchases were disabled on October 28, 2026, at 14:00 UTC+8. You can't buy anything now.
Until November 30, the notice says, "players will still be able to log in and enjoy existing game content and features as usual."
Can I still play?
Yes, for about another month, on iOS, Android and PC. After 14:00 UTC+8 on November 30 the servers go down and the game stops working. It's an online gacha game with no offline client, so there's nothing left to launch.
Is there an offline or story mode?
None was announced. UserJoy didn't mention an offline version, a story archive, or any way to rewatch the game's scenes after shutdown. If you want the story, the anime it adapts is streaming on Crunchyroll, per Noisy Pixel.
Do I get my money back?
The notice doesn't mention refunds for unused premium currency. It thanks players, apologizes "for any inconvenience caused by the closure of the game," and leaves it there. If you're holding paid currency, the safe assumption is that you should spend it before November 30.
Why is it shutting down?
UserJoy didn't say. The notice offers only that the call came "after careful consideration and discussion." Noisy Pixel and GamerBraves also note that no reason was given.
What was it?
Northern War is a turn-based mobile RPG built around Falcom's Trails series and the 2023 anime of the same name. It's set between Trails of Cold Steel II and III and follows Lavian Winslet, a North Ambrian jaeger, and her squad as they infiltrate Erebonia to scout out Rean Schwarzer. Rean, Alisa and other series regulars show up along the way, along with the Orbment and Quartz systems Trails players know.
The game launched in Japan in December 2023 and went global on May 29, 2024, with a PC version added for that launch. That gives the global version about two and a half years. The notice covers the Global Version only; it doesn't say anything about other regional versions.
The short version
Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War (Global) runs until 14:00 UTC+8 on November 30, 2026. Purchases ended October 28. No refunds, offline mode, or reason were announced. Log in, use what you've got, and finish whatever story chapters you meant to get to.
Sources
- UserJoy official site — 結束營運公告 (End of Service Notice), Oct 28, 2026
- Raider King (Oct 29, 2026) — full English notice
- Noisy Pixel (Oct 28, 2026)
- GamerBraves (Oct 28, 2026)
- oprainfall (May 29, 2024) — global launch press release
Published Oct 29, 2026. Based on UserJoy's official end-of-service notice (Oct 28, 2026), quoted in English by Raider King, with Noisy Pixel, GamerBraves and oprainfall reporting. Artwork © UserJoy / Nihon Falcom; official asset used editorially only.