Minion Rush, Gameloft's hit endless runner, is closing its doors after 13 years of service

• Despicable Me: Minion Rush, Gameloft's hit endless runner, is set to finally sunset
• A special celebration event will take place from October 1st to the 28th
• Service will shut down on January 29th, with downloads halted on October 30th

It'll be a sad day for Minion fans, as one of the longest-running examples of the genre is finally set to shut down. Gameloft's Minion Rush, first released all the way back in 2013, will be closing its doors on January 29th, 2027. With listings on Google Play and the App Store set to close on October 30th, this might be your last chance to jump in and have a go.

Minion Rush was, unsurprisingly, an endless runner focused around the adorable(?) yellow mascots of Illumination's Despicable Me series of children's films. A huge success for Gameloft, it's been in service for more than 13 years, but is finally set to sunset. A special farewell event will take place from October 1st to October 28th, offering exclusive in-game rewards for the hit game's last hurrah.

Banana!

While it may seem a bit silly to wax poetic about Minion Rush of all things, it is a rather impressive run (no pun intended) for an endless runner to have had. Back in 2013, Despicable Me was still getting off the ground, with the second entry in the series about to hit cinemas. And now, Minion Rush has lasted through three sequels and three spin-offs in the franchise that spawned it.

It's also very enlightening to actually look at the reviews on the App Store for it, with many people gushing with praise for the game. For a lot of them, this is something they've grown up with, and no doubt there's a strange sort of nostalgia about playing it.

And, finally, it's hard not to argue that Minion Rush has been a major success for Gameloft themselves, with a whopping 1.2bn installs that puts it almost at the level of hits like Subway Surfers. With updates having arrived up to only a couple of months ago, it does raise a question of whether shutting such a successful game is a bad omen for mobile at the moment...

Well, questions for another day. For the moment, if you're a former fan of Minion Rush looking for something to fill that space, why not check out our list of the best endless runners on Android for some more options?