Summary
Fans ofAdult Swim Gamesare concerned about the future of its games, as three titles are officially being delisted. The studio’s parent company,Warner Bros. Discovery, has shelved nearly completed movies and delisted original films from streaming, and amid backlash, it appears the company’s video game offerings will be next on the chopping block.
Adult Swim Games has published several indie titles, such asDuck Game, Pool Panic, Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality,and more. Many of its titles have had long lives, with years of updates, patches, and community building at risk, as Warner Bros. Discovery begins to remove games from digital stores. Although only three titles under Adult Swim Games have been officially notified of being delisted, the remaining 18 games could also be at risk. Some of the publisher’s games have already had ownership transferred, but the titles remain on Adult Swim Games’ Steam page, causing some to worry about their futures as well.
Warner Bros. Discovery has reached out to the developers ofFist Puncher, Small Radios Big Televisions,andSoundodger+to share that the games will be delisted within the next 60 days. AsPolygon reports, the developers of each game are uncertain as to the future of their projects, with requests to transfer ownership back to the developers’ respective studios being denied due to logistical issues and a reported “limited capacity” of Warner Bros. Discovery’s team. The fate of the remaining titles under Adult Swim Games is still uncertain.
These Games Could Be Delisted by Warner Bros. Discovery
In response to Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision,Small Radios Big Televisionsdeveloper Owen Deery has made the game free to download from his website. Michael Molinari ofSoundodger+and Team2Bit ofFist Puncherboth requested that ownership be transferred back to the developers, and both were met with rejections. Molinari told Polygon thatSoundodger+could be republished on Steam, but with all mentions ofAdult Swim Gamesremoved, including the names of the Adult Swim Games employees in the credits. Molinari said that this proposition “is a direct blow to properly crediting the people that worked on a game,” and that republishing would also costSoundodger+its years of reviews, forum discussions, community guides, and more.
The removal of these games has prompted anger among affected developers, especially regarding the preservation of video games. Matt Kain of Team2Bit stated in theSteam postannouncingFist Puncher’s delisting that “Videogames are art. Videogames connect us. Videogames are important. Videogames are part of our cultural heritage and should be preserved.”Soundodger+’s developer also spoke in support of video game preservation and was disappointed by Warner Bros. Discovery’s request to remove Adult Swim Games from any republished version of his game. While it is not certain exactly why these titles will be retired, it could be related toWarner Bros. Discovery’s decision to focus on live-servicegames instead of so-called “one and done” titles.
