10 Games That DISAPPEARED in 2022
“Hyper Scape” (2020)
When Ubisoft launched their own battle royale in 2020, we were just as dumbfounded as the rest of the gaming community. Why, in the year 2020, are you launching a game that’s going to have to compete with “Fortnite”, “Apex Legends”, and PUBG? The market was already swallowed by those three titles alone. “Hyper Scape” wound up suffering a fate similar to the dozens upon dozens of other battle royales out there; everyone already found one they liked, and they all had unique art styles, gameplay, and total support. “Hyper Scape” was generic and did nothing to distinguish itself from its competitors, thus hurling itself into the abyss when it shut down back in April.
“Overwatch” (2016)
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Rest in pieces, “Overwatch”. Blizzard Entertainment’s online FPS was a massive hit for a time, but had fallen by the wayside in the last couple years after Blizzard announced they were done adding new content to the game. Fast-forward to October 2022 when Blizzard launched “Overwatch 2”. To make sure the entire player base jumped over, Blizzard went and pulled the plug on the original “Overwatch” the day before its sequel went live. Regardless of how you feel about the new game, whether you prefer the 6v6 gameplay or the lootbox mechanics, “Overwatch 2” is now the only option you have.
“Override: Mech City Brawl” (2018)
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For as small as it was compared to most multiplayer games (and most fighting games, for that matter), “Override” managed to amass a modest enough playerbase to justify a few downloadable characters despite middling reviews. Even more surprising, “Override” would get a sequel in 2020. Unfortunately, it came at a cost, and we lost the original game just as we lost the original “Overwatch”. Though developer Modus Games announced the game’s removal on September 29, no specific reason was given as to why it was happening. Delistedgames.com speculates that the removal was done due to the closure of Amazon GameSparks which offered backend support (i.e. account management, achievement integration, premium currency, etc.) for a variety of online games. We will see another victim of this event in a little bit.
“Fast & Furious Crossroads” (2020)
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With “Fast & Furious” being more successful than ever, one would anticipate the franchise would be ripe for some solid video games. Alas, “Crossroads” was one of the worst games in recent years, so much so that we even put it on our list of Worst Games of 2020 over on WatchMojo. The cars handled like frozen blocks of grease, the story was a miserable experience with its awful writing and pacing, and it was loaded with various bugs and glitches. Clearly, the game performed about as poorly commercially as it did critically, and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment put “Crossroads” out of its misery. As of April 2022, you can no longer purchase the game on digital storefronts.
“Super Bomberman R Online” (2020)
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“Super Bomberman R” was a surprise hit for Konami, so much so that the game was eventually ported to other consoles. As enticing as this “Online” spin-off sounded, it failed to answer the same problematic question we asked Ubisoft when it came to “Hyper Scape”: why do we need this? Mind you, “Bomberman” has offered up fun multiplayer experiences before, but those expecting this to last for more than a couple years were sorely mistaken. Konami did not offer much support after launch, and it ultimately led to a non-existent playerbase. It doesn’t help that “R Online” was originally a Stadia exclusive before going multiplatform almost a year later. The fuses fizzled out on December 1, 2022.
“Spellbreak” (2020)
“Spellbreak” was a special case compared to the rest of our list as it shut down against its will. Developer Proletariat would support their free-to-play third-person shooter for nearly two years before it all came to a sudden end. In June 2022, Proletariat announced the studio had been acquired by Activision Blizzard, and as a result, “Spellbreak” would cease support and shut down on January 9, 2023. According to the developers themselves, “Spellbreak” never reached a point of sustainability to continue its investment, thus prompting them to take the deal. Proletariat has been folded into Blizzard and will be a support team for “World of Warcraft”. As for “Spellbreak”, well, it will have disappeared by the time you watch this video.
“The Matrix Awakens” (2021)
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As the gaming community slowly makes its way into the new generation of console gaming, early adopters might want to consider pushing deals out as far as possible to garner as many players as possible. “The Matrix Awakens”, on the other hand, seemed to want to leave as quickly as it arrived. Serving as a demo for Unreal Engine 5 and its capabilities on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, “The Matrix Awakens” was an excellent experience with its set pieces, action, and visuals. For some reason, Epic Games seemed to be in a hurry to get rid of the demo, giving players only seven months to play it, even announcing the delisting on the day of its launch. As of July 9, 2022, you can no longer redeem “The Matrix Awakens”.
“Soulcalibur” (2008) & “Soulcalibur II HD Online” (2013)
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This is perhaps the most mysterious and aggravating delisting in this video. For some reason, Bandai Namco Entertainment delisted these two legendary fighting games from whatever digital storefronts still had them. No announcements were made. No notices were given to fans. “Soulcalibur” got delisted in Japan and North America in February 2022 while “Soulcalibur II HD Online” was delisted in North America on April 1, 2022 with its Xbox One port delisted nearly two months later. Delistedgames.com speculates that these delistings were done due to changes in Bandai Namco Entertainment’s corporate structure, citing the way both games credit the publisher as “Namco” or “Namco Bandai” as well as the division between Bandai Namco’s European and North American offices. Until the publisher talks or relists the games with new credentials, we will never know why the player base had to take the brunt.
“Killer Queen Black” (2019)
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Of all the games to be delisted this year, “Killer Queen Black”, the console version of the indie arcade hit, was the most tragic loss. “Killer Queen” is one of the most unique and original multiplayer games we’ve played in a long time. Unfortunately, it was blindsided by the closure of Amazon GameSparks just like “Override”. In October 2022, developer the console ports Liquid Bit LLC announced that “Killer Queen Black” had been removed from sale and would have its servers pulled November 30, 2022. The studio told fans they had tried seeking out a new provider, but the costs would have been too great as migration would require “an almost complete rewrite of the game.” At the time of this video, you can seemingly still buy physical copies for the Switch version from the “Killer Queen” website. Killer Queen Black Update - Liquid Bit, LLC
“Babylon’s Fall” (2022)
To see “Babylon’s Fall” flop as hard as it did is one of the most unsurprising events of the year. After negatively received betas and previews, no one was really caught offguard by a scathing reception at launch. To see a game get pulled a mere six months after launch with an order by publisher Square Enix to destroy all physical copies still sitting on store shelves is something else. Very few games have suffered a fate similar to Atari’s “E.T.” game in 1982, and in a world where live service games can potentially bounce back, some speculated Square Enix would take that gamble. Yet here we are now with a live service game made inaccessible to purchase and which will become totally unplayable to everyone when servers close in February 2023. Here’s hoping “Bayonetta 3” has stabilized Platinum Games' financial situation after dealing with such a massive loss like this.