It’s the end of an era, as Bandai Namco announced that The Idolmaster SideM Growing Stars service will end on July 31, 2023. According to the time table on the official website, it will start reducing the number of staff on the team in April 2023. Basic updates such as events and the story will cease in May 2023.
Though there will no longer be any new events, there will be some re-runs in April. As well, there will be updates to some of the stories. Bandai Namco did not state on its website which ones it will update.
The Idolmaster SideM Growing Stars will no longer be growing, but The Idolmaster SideM will. Bandai Namco will hold its eighth live concert, as well as create new songs. These songs will be part of a new story update, as well as appear in a concert featuring 3D models of the characters. It will also post some of the story archives from SideM.
The Idolmaster SideM Growing Stars is a rhythm game based on The Idolmaster SideM. It’s similar to the difference between The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls and Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage. As an aside, Bandai Namco shut down The Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls (the production game) in March 2023 whereas Starlight Stage (the rhythm game) is still in service. It’s the opposite of what will happen to SideM.
The Idolmaster SideM Growing Stars will end service on July 31, 2023. Until then, the game is available on mobile devices in Japan.
