Lots Of Xbox Games Have Suddenly Been Delisted In Some Countries

Being all digital is amazing isn't it!?!

Can't wait for EVERYTHING to be just only digital. It's sooooooo convenient to own nothing you pay for.

Really hope people wake up soon, and fight against it. It's only the beginning. It WILL NOT get better.

This happens all the time depending on the region.
There's a lot of games that have been delisted or just never been available from the start.

It really sucks, yeah. It's also important to note that some games are nearly impossible to find physical in some countries or just obscenely expensive just for a used copy. So no, that wouldn't help in every case.

"Xbox truly cares about game preservation."

So much for preservation, am I right?

That's a lot of games.

Abo Khashem - Biggest pile of crap going!

Gear Gauntlet - Heh! I'm in the credits for this game!

I own 6 of the games on this list, @FraserG. If they have been delisted, does that now mean I will be unable to download them? Thanks...

@Fiendish-Beaver Believe that usually you'll be able to re-download.

But, and this important part to ALWAYS remember, if Microsoft shuts servers down, for any reason, then you are out luck.

Remember that, when people constantly preech, that all digital is sooooooo wonderful.

They appear to still be available for UK thankfully but this is very bad for the regions affected. I’d be pissed if a whole bunch of games suddenly vanished from my wishlist and I was unable to purchase them for an extended period of time.

Delisted just means that they are not available to 'BUY' and has nothing to do with 'preservation' or your access being 'removed'.

If you already own these, you can re-download and/or keep playing. It just means that for whatever reason, the Store is no longer permitted to sell the game.

Physical games aren't manufactured 'indefinitely' and there is a finite number of Copies you can buy. Therefore you cannot buy every game ever released 'new' in a physical format. However, you maybe able to find one used. Discs don't last forever either .

You have to buy Discs to 'preserve' your OWN library but you may also need to ensure you keep your Console as Disk Drives may become obsolete and therefore the ONLY way to play that game is to play it on Original Hardware (which also is 'obsolete' and no longer manufactured). Series S owners can't play Halo 3 if they bought it on Disc because it has no Disc Drive, but buying it Digitally, they'd have it in their Library to 'download' anytime.

Digital and Physical both have their Strengths - but arguing about 'preservation' is absolutely the wrong thing. Games aren't 'preserved' better on Physical media - you can't buy many 10yr old Games 'new' - not unless they have some really old stock in their warehouse they never sold - so how is that different to not buying Games 'delisted' digitally? If you bought them 'before' they were delisted, they are still 'preserved' in your account or on your Hardware - you can still play the games you bought IF you yourself decide to 'keep' them.

As for 'servers' and/or internet access issues in the future, how is that different from say mechanical failures or disc rot for example. your Hardware could fail, your disc can get scratched or break down so you can't play that game. You may not be able to repair or replace as both Disc & hardware are no longer manufactured and 'working' examples are so rare they are really expensive now.

They are NOT preserved for EVERYONE to buy anytime they want and many years into the future - preserved for the next gen of Gamers as Physical may become obsolete or change format/hardware (You can't play your N64 Goldeneye Cartridge on Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, Switch or Switch 2 - you can't play most of your OG Xbox disc games on a Modern Xbox (not at all on a Series S), can't play your PS3 discs on a PS4/5 so the ONLY way to preserve these is to 'keep' your Hardware and Software.

Many OG Xbox or 360 games aren't even available to buy on Disc (new) because they sold all the Physical copies and stopped making more. You may get lucky and find them used on Ebay, but that's not 'preservation' or preserving these games for generations to come!!!

Its BS that people claim 'Preservation' issues with Digital but don't see how its exactly the SAME as Physical in that Delisted is basically the same as Out of Stock/no longer manufactured. You can't buy it (if you haven't already) but doesn't affect those who already OWN it. You only 'preserve' your Physical Collection by keeping it (and the Hardware in working order), maintaining it and hoping that it doesn't break/fail - but its ONLY preserving it for YOU not everyone. If you don't 'delete' games and/or 'save' them on Expansion Cards, then you preserve your Digital Library regardless of Server/Internet issues in the future!

Delisting just means those that haven't bought cannot now buy (at the moment) - it does not impact 'preservation' or access for those that already bought!

@BAMozzy Just realised that you have already written what I wanted to say.

To add I have a ton of digital games that they have been delisted that I can re download and play. The most recent examples are the retro SEGA games. I can still redownload and play say Daytona in my Xbox Series S.

In the end of the day digital is much better for video game preservation whether we talk about disk back ups or digital games. You can store the games in multiple hard disks or even in the cloud. You don't care if the original cardidges or CDs corrode.

@Brigurugi It is not obly Microsoft. Sony and Nintendo are actively trying to fizzle out physical media anyway. Physical games don't exist anymore. Most recent games don't have the full game in the disk or require launch day patches.

@GuyinPA75 I think that Microsoft servers will outlive the corrosion of Xbox disk games. Most recent games require patches from such servers to work anyway.

It's just delisted in the store.
I have some of the games in that list, and I can still download them.
I can still download games that got delisted on 360/PS3/Vita.

But as usual, it's full panic mode, from the collectors.

@Brigurugi
"Stop buying digital and this all ends."

Good luck with that.

@Brigurugi Microsoft have done far more to preserve games than Sony or Nintendo combined.

Most of these are admittedly lackluster, but Kena is fantastic. Good thing I bought it physically, as no anti-consumer move by any corporation can now remove my ability to play it whenever I like. I’d pity all the low intellect pro-digital people, but they’re getting what they deserve. The intelligent among them will use this as a learning experience and buy physically where possible.

@Balaam_ Imagine trying to play the game in 20 years. The disk may be corroded, you Xbox One may not work, the current Xbox, if it exists, won't have a disk drive. Meanwhile, PCs will always be around and you could always play the digital version of GOG or Steam.

@belmont A LOT of Console games are 'preserved' on PC already so you don't need your old megadrive to play Sonic on Cartridge anymore - assuming they all still work and get them working with Digital Displays of the 21st Century.

I had a massive games collection 'preserved' in my attic - but most of the Hardware I wouldn't trust to 'work' and certainly can't buy replacements for. I don't play my PS3 games I have on Disc anymore even if my Consoles still work - None of my Controllers hold a charge anymore but at some point, ALL my Physical hardware/software will end up in Landfill or being recycled for its raw materials after gathering dust in storage - 'just in case' I want to play it 20yrs later...

Kitty Powers Match Maker is also part of the delisted games

@Brigurugi LOL you clearly are not an Xbox player to think that Microsoft is the worse of the 3 regarding gaming preservation. They have a WHOLE department dedicated to that exact feature and you can still play TONS of physical games from more than 20 years ago FOR FREE.

They are so evil.

Guys, you can still buy and use game keys of delisted games, so they are not gone. Don't panic 💆 Just figure out how to do it 😉

That’s a lot of games

@GuyinPA75 my talking, pal.

You can add the planet of the apes game to that list not available anymore for me in Ireland!

@Balaam_ You must be low on intelligence because if you bought the games they are still there to download you just can't buy them new!!
I'd say it's more ignorance than low intelligence on your part though because I have more respect for people that think differently to me than you seem to do!

Jeez how many whiners. Sometimes its just licensing renewal or whatever and games can return.
I had same issue on spotify where one day all albums of a specific artist got removed. It was restored in couple of days.
Relax guys

So ... If I'm paranoid... You need to backup all your games on a external HDD...
Marvelous. And GOG is offering a better service on PC.... Strange... I think I know what platform I will use in a next future...

Why bother when you can't get a sizable amount of games on Xbox, but you'll soon be able to get just about anything on PlayStation and Nintendo.

What's happening here is Xbox, really, doesn't care. They're evaluating the market to see what happens and I guess they're seeing what they can sell on PlayStation, which his been really good. They don't want Xbox fans to see they don't care so they're making the Xbox handheld in cooperation with ASUS. ASUS is likely making the hardware and Xbox is asking if they're software can just be present. (This isn't an Xbox.) If you look at it, how is the Xbox version of ROG any different than what's already available? There isn't. It's not Xbox made or Xbox branded. It's ASUS that Xbox asked if they can be present on which isn't any different because the other device is a handheld PC running Windows.

What am I seeing? Xbox sees a bigger market with PlayStation and Nintendo. That's where they're ultimately gonna go. They're, basically, getting ready to break up with their Xbox fans by letting them down as easily as possible to move on to a polygamist relationship with PlayStation and Nintendo fans, why? Because Xbox fans will just gravitate over to the competition and build their home there and buy Xbox games anyway, or to the PC where Play Anywhere already exists, never even Xbox but PC, basically Steam anyway. This is Xbox getting ready to cut things off with their fanbase altogether and tell them to just move on. Ya know, act now and ask forgiveness later

@johndoe89 Doesn't matter. Welcome to the digital era, dude. When you don't have physical media, they can take it away whenever they want. That's always been the fear of those smart enough to have always invested in physical media and demand it, because you never know. I got Gears of War on a third party site shortly after it's release on PC, threw months later my PC crashed, went back to get the game from my account, GONE! I learned then, in the early 2000s what the digital era would look like. And, remember that agreement you made to the notification Steam sent out that you don't own your Steam games, they're just licensed? Yeah. Backing them up doesn't do anything when your Internet connection is shut off (when you try to disconnect it to hide your games so they can't take them from you and an Internetless console (the most recent PlayStation Network outage, for example), yeah, if they tried to take your game library from you and you had your console disconnected, they were already way ahead you months or a year or two ago when you updated your console that required an Internet connection to play digital games. They're way ahead of you, man. That's already been thought through AND those who collected physical media are way ahead of everyone until some twenty years or so when and if disc rot becomes a thing like a small percentage of software does now (obviously depending on how well you take care of them in various living conditions such as dry vs humid). It's not gonna save you, man. Xbox thought of all of this a long time ago, perhaps to get you to buy their software again on a competing console to make more money. You may not understand just how much Xbox wanted Activision that they'd pay anything for it. It wasn't worth $69 billion, but they knew PlayStation wouldn't and couldn't pay that much so they outbid them like eBay, but it was too much for them, they had to go to Microsoft to ask dad to reach deep in his pockets assuring them this acquisition would cripple Sony. Daddy believed them and when the acquisition happened and the first Call of Duty released and underperformed and Microsoft understood the mistake of the promise of Game Pass to give everything away free, dad became mad and said: "You're gonna work your butt off to pay us back. How're you gonna do that? You can't. You're in debt to us forever now." The only way was to sell their software on competiting consoles that were selling significantly better. Activision was their mistake. Activision was probably only worth, I don't know, $2.5 billion, at most and maybe not actually worth that, but Xbox was panicked and did know of Sony would work out something better so they offered an astronomical amount and now, they shot themselves in the foot

Ah licensing agreements, or other things for pulling. Storing games away without means to is the only way. Archiving, removing the DRM or otherwise is tricky and can be well..... look at EULAs by that. Companies want control, sometimes for fair reason, others just too restrictive even besides understandable means.

Yeah there is a reason why physical is so important or digital with more respect to it but digital is so particular in how it's controlled and sub services have their agreement limits they last for that companies make deals with.

Disks will always have license keys ever since region free consoles and won't be just easy to install and then sell/not need it or not easy to confirm licenses due to how they want to handle them even besides being broken and not redeemable of access. Account locked digital or depending console locked or other ways can be done.

Whatever ratings/themes/other factors are allowed in games versus prevented from release.

That or IPs that are just dead and never will be touched, whether open to the public over time, renewed or otherwise and sit there 'when they feel like it' yet never get anywhere.

At least the few back compat with a disk still work even if digitally not available but it's not always clear they are either.

Licensing is always a problem. It's not something Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo can do about it if the license, license holder, source code or otherwise (and even interest in reverse engineering) will happen. Let alone care to offer availability for it, relevance in current strategies or otherwise.

Racing ones licenses for cars, tracks, music, sponsors and more are always a problem. Actors likenesses can be too or whatever else. I never care for licensed music anyway, I can go with fictional cars/tracks but people don't want that they want their wish fulfillment or what is familiar or other factors after all.

Sports or movie licensed same thing they have their limits.

Whatever is out there sure, but many puzzles games on PSP I'd like to see but never were digital ever, so physical or emulation only for them. None of those companies devs or publishers care enough.

Many left behind shooters of PS3/360/Wii.

Many Wii versions different to the HD versions are left behind and I prefer many of them over the HD versions gameplay modes, feel or core mechanics.

Same with OG Xbox, might as well have a 360 for back compat and that internet connection/account access still up and running. With hardware or software ones not tied the way Microsoft does at least Sony/Nintendo back compat is always accessible.