Whoa, thanks for the heads-up @KillU1 — that’s really unfortunate news 😞
It’s a huge shame that Acid Ape Chess, which has been such a niche favorite (especially for serious analysis and DGT support), is now just... *bricked* due to a license check failing. The fact that it still appears available for purchase on the Play Store while being unusable is especially worrying—feels like it needs an urgent takedown or at least a big disclaimer from the devs or Google.
Hopefully this sparks some kind of official communication. Would be amazing if they could patch in offline license support or release a legacy version for existing users. There’s a lot of people who relied on this tool, especially for physical board integration.
If anyone hears from the developer or finds a workaround, please post here. I’m sure a bunch of folks are in the same boat now 🚢
🛑 Acid Ape Chess Unusable Since April 17, 2025 – License Server Shutdown
As of April 17, 2025, the Acid Ape Chess app, including the Grandmaster Edition, has become non-functional. Upon launching the app, users encounter the following error message:
“License error. License could not be activated.”
This issue affects both the free and paid versions of the app.
💰 App Pricing
Grandmaster Edition: 20 €
DGT Driver for Physical Boards (., DGT e-Board, Revelation II): 59€ Despite the ongoing issues, the app remains available for purchase on the Google Play Store, potentially leading to further user frustration.
🔍 Cause: License Verification Failure
The app performs an online license check upon each launch. With the license servers now offline, the app cannot verify licenses and thus fails to start.