Rock Band iOS game warns it will stop working this month

Rock Band iOS will be disabled May 31 according to an in-game message

The Rock Band iOS app will no longer be playable on iOS devices starting on May 31, according to an in-game message noted by one user on the official Rock Band forum. EA's website simply states that connected features will stop functioning on May 28.

"Dear Rockers," the pop-up reads, "On May 31, ROCK BAND will no longer be playable on your devices. Thanks for rocking out with us!"

Electronic Arts' Online Services Update page shows that the iPhone, Android, Palm and feature phone versions of the game, and a slew of other mobile games, will be losing their connected features on May 28.

In a comment on the Rock Band forum Harmonix community manager Aaron "HMXhenry" Trites states he has "No clue as to the specifics."

"My guess is that it has something to do with the MTV Games and EA logos that pop up when you load it. Since we are no longer partnered with them, I have no idea how that has affected projects like RB on iOS. But, as we've seen with the recent DLC delays, there's a lot of work being done behind the scenes now that Harmonix is independent and I wouldn't be surprised if this was related.

"Again, that's mostly guesswork, but I'm not at all familiar with the particulars of the partnership or how content is managed on iOS."

Reached for comment this morning, Harmonix reiterated their surprise about the pop-up.

"Yesterday was the first we heard of this," a Harmonix spokesman said. "EA Mobile is responsible for the publishing and hosting of Rock Band on iOS. We're reaching out to them to better understand what's happening with the app."

As of now the game is still available to purchase on its official iTunes product page despite the message. The app's description does not appear to warn potential buyers that the game they're paying $4.99 won't work online in less than a month. EA's Rock Band Reloaded app doesn't appear to be impacted by this.

Other mobile games losing their connected features include Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 and 11 for feature phones, Bejeweled for feature phones and Android and Boom Blox for feature phones.

We have contacted EA and Harmonix for more details and will update the story when more information is received.

Update: EA says the message was an error.