Warner Bros. has taken an indie developer by surprise by announcing the delisting of their game published under WB’s Adult Swim Games label. Titled Small Radios Big Televisions, the game released in 2016 for the PS4 and PC, and was developed by solo dev Owen Deery (Fire Face).
WB’s Adult Swim Games allegedly retains the right to sell Small Radios Big Televisions
Deery announced the news on Twitter, and decided to make Small Radios Big Televisions free to download. In response to a question from a follower, Deery implied that he can never sell the game himself on any other platform — or by any other means — as he’s contractually bound to allow only Adult Swim Games to sell it. It’s unclear if making Small Radios Big Televisions free will violate that contract or not.
In separate tweets, Owen said that he will still get royalties from every sale of Small Radios Big Televisions until the day it’s delisted.
This news has caused concern among indie devs because “business changes” is a rather vague reason to delist a game, and the move sets a wrong precedent that many say is a slippery slope.
Small Radios Big Televisions is still up on the PS Store and will be removed in a couple of weeks, according to Deery.
