Tapas shutdown cuts off paid comics in shocking 2027 exit
Tapas, the North American webcomic and web novel app owned by Kakao Entertainment, will go dark at 11:59 p.m. PDT on March 31, 2027, and the episodes readers paid to unlock will go with it. The Tapas shutdown details arrived in an updated FAQ the platform posted Oct. 1, according to Anime News Network, nine days after Kakao confirmed on Sept. 22 that it planned to close the service.
Will readers keep the episodes they already unlocked?
No. Once the service ends, the app and every episode unlocked with Ink, the platform’s virtual currency, will be out of reach. Tapas told readers it won’t move libraries or purchases to Kakao Page or Kakao WEBTOON, the company’s other storytelling services.
Refunds look unlikely, too. The FAQ points readers to the existing refund policy, which treats Ink purchases as generally non-refundable.
What should fans do with leftover Ink before the Tapas shutdown?
Spend it. Ink already sitting in an account can still unlock episodes until the final day. As of Oct. 1, though, the app no longer sells Ink or hands out the free Ink it once offered, so balances can only shrink from here.
Don’t hold out for a farewell discount. Tapas said it has no sales or special events planned and that prices will stay where they are. Readers can ask the company for a copy of their account and personal data, but that request covers information, not the comics themselves.
Can creators pull their series or take them elsewhere?
Under the Tapas shutdown plan, series stay up through the end of service unless their creators take them down sooner. Uploads also remain open, so some stories may get fresh chapters, or even endings, before the lights go out. Creators who would rather leave early can file a removal request through the platform’s Creator Inquiry Form.
Where a series lands next depends on its contract. Tapas said it will review exclusivity clauses creator by creator, and it hasn’t announced any broad move of titles to another Kakao platform.
For many creators, the news came secondhand. Bleeding Cool reported that creators heard about the closure through news coverage or Discord rather than official channels. TurtleMe, the author behind “The Beginning After the End,” posted on Sept. 23 that he was “still in shock,” Anime Corner noted.
Why Kakao ordered the Tapas shutdown after 5 years
Kakao Entertainment bought Tapas and the web novel app Radish in 2021 for about 1.1 trillion won (roughly $780 million), per ANN, which says the deal valued the two companies at about $510 million and $440 million at the time. They merged into Tapas Entertainment in 2022. Kakao closed Radish in 2025, saying it would center its North American story business on Tapas.
That bet didn’t hold. Bleeding Cool cited reports calling Tapas a drag on earnings and noted that Kakao also sold Wuxiaworld back to founder Jingping Lai, part of a wider retreat from English-language publishing. In South Korea, Kakao plans to fold Kakao Page and Kakao WEBTOON into a single service built around Kakao Page by the end of the year.
The library readers stand to lose
Tapas started in 2012 under the name Comic Panda. Bleeding Cool puts its reach at more than 100,000 series from about 75,000 creators and over 10 million registered users. Its catalog has included “Solo Leveling,” “Overgeared,” “The Beginning After the End” and Leeanne M. Krecic’s Eisner-nominated “Let’s Play.”
For fans who followed those stories chapter by chapter, the Tapas shutdown turns a paid library into a countdown. Readers tracking where the biggest franchises go next can catch up on our latest “Solo Leveling” update, while rival WEBTOON has kept courting new talent, including at its first LightBox Expo panels. Follow our books and comics coverage for where Tapas creators land next.