Warner Bros., the former owners of the Adult Swim Games publishing label, have recently reached out to developers regarding the return of ownership of their game’s Steam pages. This unexpected move has come as a relief to many developers who had previously feared their games would be delisted permanently.
In a surprising turn of events, Warner Bros. has decided to reverse their stated policy from March, where it seemed likely that all Adult Swim Games would be removed from the platforms. The developers of popular games like Small Radios Big Televisions, Duck Game, and Rise & Shine have all confirmed that they have received emails from Warner Bros. granting them back ownership of their games’ store pages.
Landon Podbielski, the developer of Duck Game, shared his excitement on social media, announcing that his game is safe and will remain on all platforms. Similarly, Owen Deery, the developer of Small Radios Big Televisions, made his game free to download in response to the potential delisting, but is now reassured that ownership will be returned to him.
Initially, Warner Bros. had informed some developers that they wouldn’t be able to transfer ownership back to the original studios due to resource constraints. However, it seems that a change of heart has taken place, allowing developers to retain control over their games’ store listings.
The restructuring of Adult Swim Games in late 2020 had raised concerns among developers about the fate of their games. With the potential delisting of Steam pages, developers faced the risk of losing years worth of reviews and having to rebuild their presence in the marketplace. However, the recent decision by Warner Bros. to transfer ownership back to the creators has alleviated these concerns.
While the process of transferring ownership of a Steam store page may seem straightforward, there are still risks involved, especially for games whose developers are no longer active. Despite this, the recent actions taken by Warner Bros. have been welcomed by the gaming community, signaling a positive step towards supporting indie developers and preserving their work. It remains to be seen if more developers will come forward with similar stories of regaining ownership of their games in the future.