Travel Frog: China Journey to shut down due to IP expiration

The mobile game ‘Travel Frog: China Journey’ has announced it will officially cease operations on December 8, 2026, due to the expiration of its IP licensing agreement. The shutdown process will begin on September 8, 2026, when downloads, registrations, and recharges will be disabled. A refund policy has been established for unused virtual currency (Clover) purchased within the three months prior to the recharge cutoff.

Internal disclosures from the project team reveal significant operational struggles during the game's six-year run. Despite the game reaching millions of daily active users, the small team of fewer than ten people faced severe financial constraints, as 95% of the revenue was allocated to the Japanese copyright holder.

The team also reported difficulties with the development process, noting that while the Chinese version required entirely new code, it was subject to lengthy and restrictive oversight from the copyright owner. Attempts to buy out the Chinese rights for an eight-figure sum reportedly failed when the copyright holder changed terms at the last moment. Furthermore, efforts to sustain the project through high-margin merchandise were stifled by delays in the copyright holder's approval process.