Moana Pasifika management said on Wednesday it was no longer viable to continue the Auckland-based franchise, which joined Super Rugby in 2022 with a vision of building pathways to test rugby for players with Pacific nations heritage.
"This decision comes after extensive consideration of the financial, operational, and strategic realities facing the franchise as well as professional rugby in New Zealand," the team said in a statement.
The decision follows the collapse of the debt-ridden Melbourne Rebels in 2024, which left Australia's second-biggest city without a professional rugby union presence.
New Zealand Rugby said it was aware there may be parties exploring "financially viable and sustainable plans" for Moana, and it was open to engaging with them.
But the governing body declined to provide further details.
"NZR remains supportive of Moana Pasifika's vision to create pathways from the Pacific and is saddened by the challenges the club faces," it said in a statement.
Moana Pasifika entered Super Rugby with Fiji-based team Fijian Drua in 2022 with the support of World Rugby and New Zealand government grants.
Plans to base the team in the Pacific never materialised and they have effectively operated as New Zealand's sixth Super Rugby team and the second in Auckland, competing with the established Blues.
With World Rugby and government funding drying up, financial problems have mounted at a franchise which has struggled to build a strong fan base and attract commercial sponsors.
Moana pulled off a recruiting coup to sign loose forward Ardie Savea last year and the All Blacks enforcer helped the side to seventh on the table last year, their best season.
But they have otherwise struggled to lure top-shelf talent, and with Savea playing in Japan this season while on a sabbatical, Tana Umaga-coached Moana are bottom of the table with one win from eight games.
While Umaga was set to depart Moana at the end of the season for a new job as All Blacks defence coach, the future of dozens of players and staff is now up in the air, including Savea who was to return in 2027.
Moana's disbandment is another blow for Super Rugby, which once boasted 18 teams after launching in 1996 with 12.
The provincial competition never fully recovered from the disruption brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the withdrawal of South Africa's professional sides relegating it to a mainly Australian and New Zealand affair.