Outernauts Facebook closing in favour of new mobile version

Outernauts, the first Facebook game from Insomniac's social label, will be shuttered in January as the team moves on to a new mobile version of the Pokémon-like casual battler.

Outernauts will close on Facebook and Kongregate on January 31, the developer announced in a post on the Insomniac Games website.

The decision will allow Insomniac to "concentrate on making our iOS version the very best it can be", the team added.

"While we’d love to be able to keep running Outernauts on Facebook, Kongregate and iOS, we simply don’t have the resources to do so at our high standards. What does that mean? Honestly, it means we wouldn’t be able to create new content for all three platforms and more importantly, properly address player inquiries. We have to pick where we focus, and we’re going to focus on iOS (and eventually Android)."

In-game purchases have been closed, and players who have purchased star gems in the past 48 hours will receive triple the amount as compensation.

"In addition, we will soon announce a detailed rewards structure as a thank-you to the many dedicated Outernauts browser players who may wish to try Outernauts on iOS. This is important to us, as we have come to really connect with the hardcore Outernauts community members," Insomniac added.

Insomniac thanked fans for accompanying the team on its journey as the game evolved past its initial social game tropes, crediting players for many suggestions which resulted in a better game, and said the new mobile version will have "a more streamlined experience focusing primarily on breeding and battles — with more beasts, worlds, missions and well, more".

Insomniac is just one of a number of companies like Zynga and EA which have chosen to focus on mobile rather than Facebook over the past few years.

Thanks, Kotaku.