Warner Bros. is removing Adult Swim Games from console stores and Steam

Even Warner Bros. Discovery games are subject to the capriciousness of the executive suite. Several developers of games published under Adult Swim Games, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, have said that the company has reached out to inform them that their games will soon be removed from digital storefronts on PC and console.

“It saddens me to announce that we received notice from Warner Bros. Discovery (the owners of Adult Swim Games) that Fist Puncher will be retired and removed from Steam in the next 60 days,” wrote Matt Kain, one of Fist Puncher’s developers, on Steam.

Other developers with Adult Swim Games said they received the same message. “Within the next 60 days, Soundodger+ will be removed from Steam,” wrote Studio Bean on X.

Some of the affected developers wrote that they will republish their games on Steam, but the titles will lose their community pages, Steam achievements, forum discussions, screenshots, and other content in the process. That could all be preserved if Warner Bros. transferred publishing permissions to the developers, but developers say the company is refusing to do so, citing a lack of resources.

According to the developers, however, the Steam transfer process takes only minutes. “I sent them the Steam Transfer link, explained that it takes 3 clicks, and they still refused, claiming it would only be fair to transfer no one’s games since they can’t do them all,” Studio Bean wrote.

The move suggests Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to shut down Adult Swim Games and has taken the first step of informing impacted developers. Since completing its merger in 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery has removed TV shows from its streaming library and shelved nearly finished films, including Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme, as a means of cost cutting. The Verge has reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.

Owen Deery, developer of Small Radios Big Televisions, wrote that he’s making his game freely available on his website. Studio Bean wrote that Warner Bros. would allow the team to republish the game on Steam so long as it removed all references to Adult Swim Games, including team members listed in the credits.

“I’m all for games preservation, and this ain’t it chief,” wrote Deery.