Warner Bros. Isn’t Just Deleting Movies, They Are Coming For Games

In the wake of the stink caused by Warner Bros.’s cancellation of two nearly complete movies, Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme, and the removal of several series from its streaming services, Warner Bros. is starting to look like quite the questionable organization. 

The way the company is currently proceeding with the game deletions on Steam is also quite questionable. Several game developers received emails this week informing them that their games would soon be removed and delisted from Steam and digital console stores. 

The first news of Warner Bros.’s plans to erase Adult Swim games from the Steam and PlayStation platforms was first publicly reported by game developer Owen Reedy in an X post on Tuesday. His game, Small Radios Big Televisions, was released through Adult Swim Games in 2016. Critics praised the indie game for the unique atmosphere the music and visuals in the game created.

In response to Warner Bros. deciding to remove his game from the platform, Reedy made the Windows PC version of the game available for free on his studio’s website. 

Other game developers have since come forth to say they received similar messages from Warner Bros. Discovery, but they are still not entirely sure of what it means for their games. 

Michael Molinari, the developer of the Adult Swim Game, Soundodger+ (released in 2013 on Steam) received a message stating that his game would be “removed from Steam” sometime in the next 60 days. When he took the initiative to contact Warner Bros. and ask that they transfer ownership back to his company (as he currently retains all of the IP and game rights), he was met with rejection. 

A process that takes only about two minutes to complete is being denied to game developers on Warner Bros. reasoning which “stems from logistical and resource constraints” and the “limited capacity” of their team. They don’t have enough time and people to release ownership back to the developers of the games they plan to eradicate from the platform. 

Michael Molinari went on to explain that Warner Bros.’s decision to remove Soundodger+ from the platform would mean that more than a decade’s worth of downloads, community guides, reviews, and patch notes would instantly disappear. To gamers, that’s a devastating hit. 

Warner Bros. got back with Molinari to explain that he is more than welcome to republish his game on Steam, but anyone who understands the implications of that shift understands that it’s a terrible option. Republishing would still result in the wishlists, reviews, community guides, and forum discussions all disappearing. The game (and everything that comes along with it) would start over from scratch. 

With falling stock prices, deleted movies, deleted shows, the recent beloved fan creators Rooster Teeth (a popular indie cartoon outlet) shut down, and now the deletion of several popular Steam games, the descent of Warner Bros. Discovery continues. 

Source: Polygon