Warner Bros., the parent company of the now-defunct Adult Swim Games publishing label, has recently reached out to several developers to return ownership of their games’ Steam pages. This move marks a significant shift from their previous stance in March, where it seemed that all Adult Swim Games would be delisted.
The developers of popular games such as Small Radios Big Televisions and Duck Game expressed their excitement about this decision on social media. Landon Podbielski, the creator of Duck Game, announced that the game is safe and will be returned to his studio, Corptron. Owen Deery, the developer of Small Radios Big Televisions, also shared his relief that his game would not be retired and that ownership and store listings would be returned to him.
Initially, Warner Bros. had informed developers like Matt Kain, the developer of Fist Puncher, that they would not be transferring ownership of the games back to the original studios due to resource constraints. However, this recent change of heart has brought hope to developers who feared losing years of Steam reviews and starting over from scratch.
Founded in 2005, Adult Swim Games had a successful run publishing titles like Robot Unicorn Attack, Jazzpunk, and Westerado: Double Barreled. However, the restructuring by its parent company in late 2020 led to the demise of the publisher. While Adult Swim Games did not retain IP rights to the games they published, they controlled the Steam store pages, making the recent decision to return ownership a welcome relief for developers.
Transferring ownership of a Steam store page is a relatively simple process, but it can have a huge impact on developers’ ability to maintain visibility and momentum in the marketplace. For some developers whose studios are no longer operational, there is still a risk that their games may not return to Steam at all.
Warner Bros.’ decision to return ownership of Steam pages to developers is a positive development in the gaming industry. It not only preserves the hard work and legacy of these creators but also demonstrates a renewed commitment to supporting independent developers in the digital marketplace.
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