Minion Rush is shutting down. Gameloft confirmed on September 26, 2026 that the endless runner is winding down for good, with servers going dark on January 29, 2027 after more than 13 years in players’ pockets. If you’ve still got it installed, there’s a farewell event running through October before the app gets pulled from the stores entirely.
What happened
Gameloft put out a statement this past weekend that didn’t sugarcoat it much: “As the mobile gaming landscape continues to evolve, we have made the difficult decision to wind down our services on January 29, 2027.” That’s the line doing the rounds, and it’s about as corporate as shutdown announcements get, but the timeline attached to it is concrete.
Here’s how it breaks down. A one-month farewell event kicks off in October 2026, handing out rewards to anyone still playing before the lights go out. Then on October 30, 2026, Minion Rush comes off the App Store and Google Play for good and in-app purchases get switched off, so no more buying bananas or costumes after that date. The game itself stays playable for a few more months after delisting, right up until the January 29, 2027 server shutdown, at which point it’s done for good.
Minion Rush launched back in 2013 to ride the wave of the first Despicable Me movies, and it stuck around a lot longer than most mobile tie-in games manage. Industry tracker AppMagic estimates the game pulled in roughly 500 million downloads and more than $45.7 million in in-app purchase revenue over its run, which is a genuinely wild number for what started as a simple endless runner.
Why it matters
I think the timing here is the interesting part. The announcement landed right around the underperformance of the Minions & Monsters movie at the box office, and while Gameloft hasn’t officially tied the two together, it’s hard not to connect the dots when a 13-year-old mobile game tied to the franchise suddenly gets a shutdown date. Studios don’t usually close a game with this kind of install base and revenue history unless something upstream changed.
For mobile gaming specifically, this is also a reminder of how few games from the early 2010s boom actually survive this long. Minion Rush was one of the last true “legacy” endless runners still getting any kind of support, in the same lineage as Temple Run and Subway Surfers. Losing it is a small but real marker of that era closing out.
What’s next / how to get it
If you want to see the farewell event or just revisit the game before it’s gone, you’ve got until October 30, 2026 to download it from the App Store or Google Play — after that it’s delisted and new installs won’t be possible. Existing installs should keep working until the January 29, 2027 server shutdown, though don’t expect new content beyond the farewell rewards. Gameloft hasn’t said anything publicly about refunds for unused in-app currency, so if you’ve got Bananas sitting in your account, it’s worth spending them during the farewell event rather than assuming you’ll get compensation later.
FAQ
When does Minion Rush actually shut down?
Servers go offline on January 29, 2027. The app itself gets pulled from app stores earlier, on October 30, 2026, along with in-app purchases.
Can I still download Minion Rush right now?
Yes, as of this writing it’s still available on both the App Store and Google Play, with the farewell event running through October 2026 before delisting.
Were you still playing Minion Rush, or did you drop it years ago? Let us know in the comments.
Source(s): MobileGamer.biz, Pocket Gamer, ARY News
Looking for something to fill the endless-runner-shaped hole? Check out our best offline mobile games roundup, or see what’s launched recently in our best new mobile games of September 2026 list.
I always had a soft spot for Minion Rush since it was one of the first endless runners that actually felt good to play one-handed on the bus, so this one stings a little.
