Three Xbox games have been hard delisted on the platform, meaning they were not only removed from the Xbox Store but also from the libraries of anyone who owned them. To be clear, Xbox users can still play them if they are currently downloaded and installed, but the purchase history of them and the ability to download them again have ended. It’s hard to ignore that this is a reality when many folks are concerned about the next-gen Xbox and PlayStation 6 shifting to digital-only sales, given that this is an issue of digital ownership.
Many gamers are upset about PlayStation ending disc production and signaling the end of the physical media era, and one of the compounding issues is the sheer lack of protection when it comes to digital ownership. Once online-only multiplayer games shut down their servers, players no longer access them—that’s not ownership. If PlayStation and Xbox can nullify a purchase at any time, then players can lose their games for any reason—that’s not ownership. And so digital ownership remains a centerpiece of gaming discussions, with this hard delisting showing yet another way someone’s gaming library can just shrink with no input.
Xbox Owners Lose Access to 3 Digital Games
- Creepy Tale
- Creepy Tale 2
- StrikeForce Kitty
As first reported by True Achievements, Xbox owners who have purchased Creepy Tale, Creepy Tale 2, and/or StrikeForce Kitty from developer Creepy Brothers can no longer access them. If they were installed, they can still be played, but they cannot be downloaded from libraries again. Creepy Brothers has explained that this is due to a dispute between it and publisher No Gravity Games, with the allegations that the publisher “violated the terms of the agreement and has not paid royalties for several years.” No Gravity Games has not commented on the issue. When asked if these titles would eventually be relisted, Creepy Brothers issued the following statement:
“It’s a very slow and complicated process. I hope the games will return to stores with a new publisher.”
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Unfortunately, it’s uncertain when and if these games return to Xbox, but issues between developers and publishers should not impact someone’s ownership of games. Some may argue that these are indie games on Xbox and so fewer customers are impacted, but some customers are still impacted. There is still an impact. And if this can happen here, it can happen for any game with a publisher.
Typically, game delistings at least allow gamers to keep the product if they’ve purchased it, just preventing any modern purchases, and they are still able to play the game. In so many ways, this shutdown is as permanent as shutdowns for games like Anthem. The hope for an eventual relisting of the three games is not particularly high, not with so many issues going on in the industry.
While the industry squeeze continues, and yet Xbox prepares for the release of the Xbox Helix console and PlayStation does so for the PS6, it’s worth keeping in mind that digital ownership is not on par with the protections brought by old physical media.