Warner Bros. Discovery is telling developers it plans to pull games from its Adult Swim Games label, game makers who have worked with the publisher tell Polygon. At least three games are at risk of being removed from Steam and other digital stores, while the fate of other games published by Adult Swim is unclear.
The media group’s planned cancellation of these games reflects cuts in the film and television business; Warner Bros. Discovery has scrapped plans to release nearly complete films Batgirl And Coyote vs Acme, and removed several series from its streaming services. If Warner Bros. implements its delisting plans Adult Swim games from Steam and digital console stores could have 18 or more games affected.
News of Warner Bros.’s plan to potentially remove Adult Swim’s games from Steam and the PlayStation Store was first reported by developer Owen Reedy, who published the puzzle adventure game Small radios, large televisions
Polygon reached out to other developers who had worked with Adult Swim Games as publishers. Two studios responded that they had received a similar warning from Warner Bros. Discovery, but they were still in the dark about what it meant for their games.
Developer Michael Molinari, who published Soundodger+ by Adult Swim Games in 2013, Polygon said it received a warning from a Warner Bros. Discovery representative earlier this week that its game would be “removed from Steam” within the next 60 days.
“I don’t know if they are delisting it or delisting it,” Molinari said in an email. “I asked the representative to transfer ownership to my company as I still own all intellectual property and gaming rights. I sent him a link Steam transfer page and clearly explained that it literally takes three clicks to transfer ownership to me. He refused my request.”
Molinari said Warner Bros. Discovery’s representative said the decision not to transfer ownership back to the developers was “due to logistics and resource constraints” and “the limited capacity of our team.” (One developer Polygon spoke to said that the current Adult Swim Games team consists of a “skeletal crew.”) Molinari expressed frustration that WBD’s planned removal of his game and others has resulted in “over one Decade of downloads, community guides, reviews, etc.” would result in sticky notes […] suddenly disappear.”
According to Molinari, Warner Bros. Discovery told him he could do the re-release Soundodger+ on Steam, but this option comes with its own problems. This would “delete all of my wishlists, reviews, community guides and forum discussions and would not allow new and old owners of the game to compare achievements and trading cards,” Molinari said.
“The other legal requirement for re-releasing the game itself is to remove any mention of Adult Swim Games,” Molinari said. “I asked for clarification and he even wants the credits sequence changed to remove the people’s names [Adult Swim Games] Team. I’m a huge supporter of game preservation, and this is a direct strike against recognizing the people who worked on a game.”
Matt Lewandowski, co-owner of studio Team2Bit, the developer behind Adult Swim Games publishing Fisticuffs, Polygon said it had also been contacted by Warner Bros. Discovery with a similar warning. Lewandowski said a representative blamed the impending removal of Fisticuffs to “internal business changes”.
“We asked for them to move Fisticuffs “Back to our studio,” said Lewandowski. “Their response was that they ‘cannot transfer the game’ as they ‘have made the decision not to transfer ownership for logistical and resource reasons’.”
Lewandowski said Team2Bit remains confident that WB Discovery will yield Fisticuffs back to the studio.
“It’s been out for 11 years and we’ve built a community around it through Steam,” he said. “We have also had an incredible experience working with Adult Swim over the years. The original team that helped us do this Fisticuffs
“That is, if we don’t get the current version of Fisticuffs transferred to us, we will probably republish it on our own account. We still own the game and IP, so a re-release is definitely possible. And as someone who is passionate about preserving gaming history, I hate to see a game lost to corporate bureaucracy.”
Polygon reached out to 10 studios and individual developers whose games were published by Adult Swim Games to see what they heard. Some say they haven’t been contacted by WB Discovery, but they assume they will be. “From what I’ve heard from others, I’ll probably be hearing from them soon,” wrote developer Andrew Morrish Kingsway And Super puzzle platformer deluxe through Adult Swim, Polygon told. “It does not look good.”
Molinari said this if and when his game Soundodger+ is retrieved from Steam, he will republish it there “with as little downtime as possible between the two versions.” The game is also available from Molinari Itchy side.
“Aside from that, I’m extremely pleased that I decided to self-publish Soundodger 2” Molinari added, “because I would be devastated if my two best-selling games on Steam were removed at such short notice.”
Polygon has contacted Warner Bros. Discovery representatives for comment on the company’s plans to remove the Adult Swim Games catalog and will update when the company responds.
