Hey EA_Andy -- The URL you linked for shut down services results in a 404 error. Copying & pasting also looks like this:
https://www.ea.com/service-updates/i-q%C2%A0
However, removing the random characters at the end works. The correct format is: https://www.ea.com/service-updates/i-q
Regardless, this is disappointing on numerous levels. EA_Andy as a community manager for EA, the least you could do is communicate and not take a full year to do so. The page showing which services are shut down states that the app in question was terminated in March 2018. Why did it take you until end of November to relay this info?
For all the fathers out there who played the game and let their kids join in the fun by using the companion app on a tablet or smartphone, please consider cancelling your Origin subscriptions. As much as I enjoyed NFS, and buying every iteration (sometimes multiple copies on different console platforms), I have left for good & am now enjoying the scenery in Forza Horizon 4.