View all Additions or Updates.
View the latest Reader Submissions.
Just like Apple did in 2017, Google has announced their own plans for transitioning Android development from 32 to 64-bit. You can read more on their developer blog post but the important date for us is August 1st, 2021. That’s the date that the Google Play store will stop serving apps and games that don’t offer an up-to-date edition to 64-bit devices. There’s an exemption that will protect Wear OS and Android TV apps, and one big caveat that might make the delistings a little less painful.
According to their post, the 64-bit requirement doesn’t apply to “APKs or app bundles that are not distributed to devices running Android 9 Pie or later”. So if you’ve got an Android phone that hit its end-of-life a few years back, you might want to charge it up and download some of your favorite old games for safekeeping. It sounds like, as long as the apps weren’t updated to support some of the latest versions of Android, they’ll still be available on those older devices.
However, for the majority of Android users — those with never 64-bit devices — the Google Play store may soon be lacking some of their favorite old games. Android has been a platform for games and apps since 2008 and there are no doubt tens of thousands of developers who are no longer around or capable of bringing their old offerings up to date. For that Android majority, come August 2021 these apps will essentially be nonexistent.
I’ve added the date to the Watch List calendar.
It’s that time of the new year again. Well, ok, it’s a little past time for a 2018 recap but I’ve been busy adding more games to the site, taking a work-sponsored vacation, and continuing to deal with our first house. But enough about me, here’s some year-end figures for the site:
The Most Beloved Games
Despite all those new game pages, some familiar titles continued to be the most viewed in 2018. Take note Ubisoft, Konami, and Electronic Arts, there’s a lot of love here, and a lot of folks who’d like to see these games return! The Top Five game pages for 2018 were:
I was also hoping to have some stats for you on the Community Forums but the only figure worth mentioning is the absurd number of spam accounts I’ve had to delete. Don’t worry, none of that junk makes it onto the site, it’s all held for review. I’d love to see the forums take off in 2019 so if you’re tired of social media vitriol come hide out on our forums and let’s chat about games we can’t play anymore.
2019 Home Improvements
I hope to clean up the ‘Games’ menu in 2019. The lists of “all games” for each platform are getting a little unwieldy while also getting more and more views. I’d also like to clean up the Get Your Games Back pages as Microsoft, for one, made the process a little harder last year. This may result in some quiet periods for new content on the site but rest assured, I’m still whittling away behind the scenes.
Thanks again to everyone who found their way to Delisted Games in 2018!
P.T., the much-loved, Playable Teaser for what would’ve been a fresh start to Konami’s Silent Hill franchise, might as well be as cursed as the characters in the game. After Silent Hills was abandoned, Konami announced that P.T. would be removed from the PlayStation Store and fans have been fighting to keep it alive ever since.
Previous attempts to recreate the game on PC have either petered out of existence or been forcibly removed by Konami. But just as the latest offering — Unreal PT — is blowing fans away with its accuracy and rekindling the community’s passion for the mysterious project, its creator has chosen to take it down himself.
In the latest update to the game’s itch.io page, creator RadiusGordello finishes out the changelog of bug fixes with the following announcement:
I’ve got school starting up again soon. With the work-load that’ll give me, as well as another project I’d like to start working on, I’ll have a lot of other stuff to keep me occupied. With that said, I’ll be officially taking down Unreal PT next week. This has blown up far more than I expected, but now that it’s finished, I would like to move on and start work on something original.
Thank you all for playing!
Given the game’s cursed history and Konami’s tenacity at protecting its IP, it’s not hard to read into this announcement and dream up some clandestine conspiracy. Whatever you choose to believe, there isn’t much time left for Unreal PT though. Go ahead and grab the free download this weekend because “next week” starts awfully soon!
When we last got an update on the fate of The Walking Dead: The Final Season back in November, it was simply confirmation that series creator Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment would bring the final two episodes to release… sometime. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work “logistically and legally to get us to a place where we’re able to roll up our sleeves and get to the actual work,” Skybound wrote in the November update, but now that work is about to bear fruit.
In a post back on December 20th (that I missed until commentor Taven Matthews pointed it out), Skybound announced that Episode 3 of the 4-part final season would debut on January 15th. The season pass bundles have since returned to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One, and anyone who bought the game through Steam or the Humble Bundle store will still receive the last two episodes there, but there’s an epic twist for the series’ future availability on PC.
Another part of the announcement was the reveal that Skybound had partnered with Epic Games to make the Epic Games Store the new home for The Walking Dead: The Final Season on PC. Hopefully this means the previous seasons of the game will also return to PC as right now they’re still delisted on Steam. Fortunately, all of Telltale’s The Walking Dead titles remain on sale on consoles.
Like many fans of the series, I’m a little bent out of shape by the Epic Games twist but I’m happy that the series gets to have its proper final season, or as proper as possible given its tumultuous history. I’ll have the game’s page on the site updated soon to reflect this news.
A DMCA takedown notice has resulted in Star Control: Origins being removed from both Steam and GOG.com on December 31st. The take-down notice is the latest development in a years-long feud between Stardock — who purchased very specific rights to the Star Control IP from Atari in 2013 — and the franchise creators, Fred Ford and Paul Reiche — who announced their own Star Control sequel in 2017.
It only gets more convoluted from there but Polygon has as succinct an explanation as I’ve read so far.
In response to the takedown Stardock’s CEO Brad Wardell has laid out the studio’s response, promising that those who already own the game can continue to play and that “without the income from Star Control: Origins, Stardock will have to lay off some of the men and women who are assigned to the game”. On Twitter he further ensured that “we will have Star Control: Origins distributed directly at StarControl.com as soon as possible”.
Now that the threats have resulted in a takedown it’s not likely that the game will return to Steam and GOG.com any time soon. It could eventually happen but would likely take another court order to repeal the takedown. For now I’ll begin working on a page for the game and update it when the next wave of litigation hits.
Thanks to a submission to the site we’ve got news today from publisher Little Orbit who has announced the end of their licensing deal with Dreamworks Pictures. That means Little Orbit’s last licensed title, Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends, will be going away on January 1st, 2019.
Unfortunately the license for Kung Fu Panda Showdown of Legendary Legends is coming to an end.
On January 1, 2019 the time will come to remove the game from Steam. For a limited time before that happens, we have added a special Final Showdown bundle that includes the game and all the DLC for 50% off.
Also for the last two weeks (the maximum time we can run a sale), effective December 17th through the end of the year, you will be able to buy the main game for 50% off.
We hope that everyone enjoyed the game.
While the announcement was posted on the game’s Steam page, all digital versions of Kung Fu Panda Showdown of Legendary Legends are expected to be removed from sale early in January. For now the game is still available on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I’ll have the date added to the Watch List calendar and a page up for the game soon.
A news announcement out of Blizzard on Thursday may not be the death knell for Heroes of the Storm but it’s a sign that the game’s most lively years may be behind it. Blizzard president J. Allen Brack and chief development officer Ray Gresko penned the post that outlines a change in direction for the development team and a promise of “long-term sustainability” despite the game’s retirement from the competitive eSports scene. The most relevant chunks of the announcement follow but you can read the full post here:
“We’re also at a point where we need to take some of our talented developers and bring their skills to other projects. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to shift some developers from Heroes of the Storm to other teams, and we’re excited to see the passion, knowledge, and experience that they’ll bring to those projects.
Despite the change, Heroes of the Storm remains our love letter to Blizzard’s worlds and characters. We’ll continue actively supporting the game with new heroes, themed events, and other content that our community loves, though the cadence will change. Ultimately, we’re setting up the game for long-term sustainability.
We’ve also evaluated our plans around Heroes esports—after looking at all of our priorities and options in light of the change with the game, the Heroes Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm will not return in 2019. This was another very difficult decision for us to make. The love that the community has for these programs is deeply felt by everyone who works on them, but we ultimately feel this is the right decision versus moving forward in a way that would not meet the standards that players and fans have come to expect.”
Fortunately, Blizzard owns the various properties featured in the game so it’s not likely it’ll be completely removed from sale anytime soon. But this seems like a fair warning that modes, content, and active players may be harder and harder to find over the next few years.
While Creative Assembly continues refining their Total War series of single-player, campaign-focused strategy games, they began working on a multiplayer off-shoot in 2017 with the help of Wargaming.net known as Total War: ARENA. From closed Alpha to open Beta, the game has been under development with feedback from its pool of players since last September. Unfortunately, after a year of testing the teams at Creative Assembly and Wargaming have decided that the game wasn’t meeting their expectations.
You can interpret this statement in a few different ways. One, the game simply wasn’t fun or engaging for players and the time/budget for the team has reached its end. Or two, the “expectation” was to make a killing on microtransactions which players just aren’t generating. The cynic in me is inclined to go with #2 as these things usually come down to profit. Nevertheless, the team is keeping the game running for a few more months, disabling new registrations and cash purchases, and even offering some generous parting gifts in return. You can read the full statement below.
It is my unfortunate responsibility to inform you that Total War: ARENA will cease live operations [on] February 22, 2019.
ARENA has been on a long journey, and we are thankful to everyone who joined us. We have learned so much during the development of ARENA and we have grown incredibly close with the community and involved you deeply into our development process. It has been an absolute privilege to work with you all on this project, but unfortunately the results of ARENA Open Beta Test did not meet all our expectations.
I would like to take a moment to thank the ARENA Team, who have poured their heart and soul into this game’s development and are just as disappointed by this as you.
For those of you wondering about the team, they will all continue working on Total War, sharing their experience and learnings from ARENA. ARENA’s technological advancements will continue to be part of Total War development going forward.
To you, the players and community, I have been inspired by your passion, your commitment and your continued valuable insight. Your input and encouragement have been instrumental to the game’s development. I cannot emphasize enough how much we have enjoyed working and playing with you all, and I know that we will greatly miss speaking with you online, debating your feedback, and fighting alongside you on the battlefield.
As a thank you for playing ARENA the team of Creative Assembly is offering a free piece of Total War content to all players of ARENA on the Wargaming Game Center. You can choose one of these 4 pieces of Total War content:
Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition
Hannibal at the Gates (Total War: ROME II DLC)
Age of Charlemagne (Total War: ATTILA DLC)
Grim and the Grave (Total War: WARHAMMER DLC)To claim this offer, please look at the in-game news (live now) or check out the FAQ below.
I’ll have the date added to the Watch List calendar and a page for the game up on the site soon.
Thanks to Dead Game News on Twitter for pointing us to the news
PlayStation shmup fans have one-third of a reason to celebrate this week with the release of Gundemoniums on PlayStation 4 and Vita. The $15 title is a revamped edition of the 2003 PC original that was later released and then delisted on PlayStation 3.
Known as Gundemonium Recollection on PS3, it was published by Sony Online Entertainment and included Gundemonium, Hitogata Happa, and GundeadliGne. The games were delisted in 2015 after SOE split from Sony and became Daybreak Game Company but thanks to Mediascape Co. Ltd. one of those three games is back on offer for PlayStation owners.
It’s not exactly a relisting… but it’s close! Mediascape has been ramping up their releases of Japanese titles (mostly shooters) over the last few years so who knows, GundeadliGne, Hitogata Happa, and maybe even Acceleration of Suguri could be re-appearing soon as well.
Gundemoniums is also out this week PlayStation 4 and Vita across Europe, Australia, and Japan.
Skybound Entertainment, the multiplatform distributor co-founded by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, has finally broken their silence on the future of Telltale Games’ adventure series. In a post on Skybound’s blog the team explains that all the work up to this point has been “logistically and legally to get us to a place where we’re able to roll up our sleeves and get to the actual work”. The post also goes on to state that “many of the talented, passionate team members” from Telltale are on board to bring The Walking Dead: The Final Season to completion, and promises release date details soon.
But what we were most interested to read is that the recently delisted Walking Dead games should be making a return to sale soon. “It’s likely that previous seasons of the game may be unavailable to purchase for a few days as we transition—but don’t panic!—we’ll have everything back online ASAP. If you already purchased Season Four, you will NOT have to pay again; future episodes will be available to download as soon as they are released via your original point of purchase.”
There haven’t been any signs of life on Steam yet but we’ll be back with word as soon as we hear it. Unfortunately, Skybound isn’t picking up every Telltale title and more of their older games are likely to join Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, and Tales of Monkey Island which have already been delisted.
