Publisher Warner Bros. Discovery has initiated a wave of delistings for several indie games published under Adult Swim Games. What appears to be a significant reshuffling within the company has left developers without the ability to self-publish their own creations, despite legally owning them.
Multiple indie developers have reported receiving communications from Warner Bros. Discovery indicating that their games will be “retired” and subsequently removed from digital storefronts. One such affected indie developer, Owen Deery, shared that his game, Small Radios Big Televisions, will soon be unavailable on Steam and PS4. Deery has taken steps to make the game free for now, expressing gratitude to supporters while the 60-day countdown to delisting ticks away.
Another title, Fist Puncher, faces a similar fate with its impending retirement within the next couple of months. Efforts to transfer the game’s Steam page to the developer’s own publisher account were met with refusal; Warner Bros. Discovery claims widespread decisions against such transfers and cites a lack of resources as the reason.
Matt Kain Lewandowski from Team2Bit, the developer behind Fist Puncher, voiced his disappointment over the situation, raising concerns about the potential loss of access to the game for those who have already purchased it.
Soundodger+ is yet another game confirmed to be delisted, with developer Michael Molinari mentioning the denial of a transfer of ownership. Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to let Molinari republish the game on Steam, conditioned on the complete removal of any references to Adult Swim, including in the credits. Republishing will strip the game of its existing user reviews, wishlists, and achievements.
This ordeal suggests that Adult Swim Games might have ceased operations as an entity, given their lack of activity and response to the delistings. The last release from the company dates back to 2020 with Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, and there has been no sign of new activity on their social media channels since 2021.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s own struggles have become more apparent with the cancellation of movies and the removal of several titles from its HBO Max service. The future of the published catalog remains uncertain as both developers and fans await further information regarding the status of their beloved indie games.
