Developer Michael Molinari, who released
Soundodger+ through Adult Swim Games in 2013, told Polygon he received a warning from a Warner Bros. Discovery rep earlier this week that his game would be “removed from Steam” within the next 60 days.
“I don’t know if they’re delisting it or deleting it,” Molinari told Polygon in an email. “I pleaded with the rep to transfer ownership to my company, as I still retain all IP and game rights. I sent him a link to
Steam’s transfer page and explained clearly that it takes literally three clicks to transfer ownership to me. He rejected my request.”
Molinari said the Warner Bros. Discovery representative said the decision not to transfer ownership back to developers “stems from logistical and resource constraints” and “the limited capacity of our team.” (One developer Polygon spoke with said the current Adult Swim Games team consisted of a “skeleton crew.”) Molinari expressed frustration that WBD’s planned removal of his game and others would lead to “over a decade of downloads, community guides, reviews, and patch notes [...] suddenly vanishing.”
According to Molinari, Warner Bros. Discovery informed him that he’s allowed to republish
Soundodger+ on Steam, but that option presents its own issues. Doing so “would erase all my wishlists, reviews, community guides, and forum discussions, along with not allowing new and old owners of the game to compare achievements and trading cards,” Molinari said.
“The other legal requirement for republishing the game myself is to remove any and all mention of Adult Swim Games,” Molinari said. “I asked for clarification, and he even wants the credits sequence altered to remove the names of the [Adult Swim Games] team. I’m a huge supporter of games preservation, and this is a direct blow to properly crediting the people that worked on a game.”
www.polygon.com
