Despite whether a game is successful or not, or whether it's well-loved by fans or not, sometimes it bites the dust and it's game over for that particular title. A lot of the time it comes down to licensing issues, content issues, or studios closing and servers being taken down. If the game is digital-only it's normally gone for good if delisted, unless you're one of the lucky few who kept it installed on your console. However, sometimes games are re-listed, but that's a rare occurrence. For example last year, Ducktales: Remastered was delisted but was then relisted earlier this year.
Sometimes even possessing a physical copy of the game doesn't guarantee you that you can actually play, especially as more and more games go online or have content that must be downloaded in order to access the full game. Here we take a look at ten console games that you can't play anymore.
10 Destiny of Spirits
Destiny of Spirits was arguably ahead of its time when it came to gameplay features, utilizing location-based technology in its turn-based, strategy RPG game for the PlayStation Vita. Players collected spirits to battle with and progress through the game. There were three versions available; Asia, Europe, and The Americas. Depending on which region you lived in, players would find different spirits based on local folklore and legends, though you could trade with people from other regions.
Additionally, traveling real-world distances could also get you some new spirits. Noticeably similar to some Pokémon GO gameplay. Despite having over one million players, this game was shut down in 2015, most likely due to not selling enough in-game currency to keep this free-to-play game running.
9 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game was a side-scrolling beat 'em up game that was based on the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, and released shortly after the live-action film adaptation of the same name in 2010.
This game found cult status amongst fans, but despite this, it went on to be inexplicably delisted from both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 digital stores in December of 2014, with no announcement or reason as to why made clear to fans. There have been petitions since to re-list the game, but none have been successful so far.
8 The Tomorrow Children
The Tomorrow Children was an adventure game that was first presented at Gamescom 2014 and quickly drew attention for its quirky animation style, collaborative building elements, and Soviet-inspired dystopian feel. The game released in October of 2016 for PlayStation 4 as a free-to-play title.
However, in July of 2017, Q-Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that service for the game would be coming to an end and the servers closed down permanently on November 1, 2017. No reason was given, but many have speculated that it was the result of the free-to-play nature of the game and low-retention of players preventing the game from staying afloat.
7 Nosgoth
This game is a cheeky inclusion to this list as it was a PC title and not a console game, however, it's been included due to its ancestry. A spin-off from the Legacy of Kain series, this title was born from the ashes of the canceled Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun game, making Nosgoth a much-anticipated title that fans were eager to see whether it lived up to its predecessors. Nosgoth was a free-to-play multiplayer action-adventure game.
The alpha released in October 2013, before its proper release in January of 2015. On April 8, 2016, Square Enix community manager, Chris Murphy, announced that the game would be coming to a close, explaining that the "audience hasn’t grown enough to sustain ongoing operations". Servers shut down on May 31, 2016.
6 Minecraft: Story Mode
Minecraft: Story Mode seasons one and two were both episodic point-and-click adventures by Telltale Games, with the first releasing in 2016 and the second in 2017. Unfortunately, in 2018 Telltale Games closed its doors and it was only a matter of time before the licenses for its many games ran out.
This entry to the list is a bit of a red herring, as although the games are no longer playable on consoles (unless, like other titles in this list, the games are already downloaded), you can still play the first season via Netflix. There are retail copies out there, but as they are season pass copies they only have the first episode and require you to download the later episodes, ultimately leaving the game incomplete.
5 Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious
Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious was a standalone expansion that released in March of 2015 for Xbox One and Xbox 360. It was available for free for a short time to coincide with, and promote, the release of the film Furious 7.
However, in January of 2018, both versions were delisted from the Xbox marketplace, most likely due to licenses expiring. It's a shame for achievement hunters out there who didn't play it at the time, as the game was an easy 1000G and you could get double that if you played both versions.
4 MAG
MAG was an online-only, multiplayer first-person shooter game that released in December of 2010 for the PlayStation 3. The game received generally positive feedback and reviews and was enjoyed by fans for a good few years.
In January 2014, the game was delisted from digital stores and servers were shut down. As the game was online-only, this means it is no longer possible to play it regardless of whether you own a physical disc. Sony ended online services for SOCOM Confrontation and SOCOM 4 at the same time.
3 Noby Noby Boy
Noby Noby Boy came from Katamari franchise creator Keita Takahashi, so fans knew to expect a game that didn't conform to normal standards. Players took control of Boy, a stretchy, farting, flying character and accumulated points based on how much they stretched. These points were submitted online to a character named GIRL, who reached various planets from players' accumulated points as a community-based goal.
This digital-only title released exclusively for PlayStation 3 in February 2009. In April of 2015, the game was delisted without any announcement as to why and all fan tweets directed towards Keita Takahashi looking for an answer went unanswered.
2 Project Spark
Project Spark was a game-creation title, similar to the idea of Dreams, but not as advanced. It officially released for Xbox One and PC in October 2014. However, Project Spark community manager, Thomas Gratz, posted on the official forums on May 13, 2016, that the game would be removed from digital stores, and the servers would be shut down on August 12, 2016. Gratz stated the reason behind this decision was that it was “no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping Project Spark up and running with meaningful updates and bug fixes.”
Despite having a physical release, the case contains a download code for the game and so it is unplayable even to those who own the retail copy, as well as those who have it downloaded already as the servers have shut down.
1 StarBlood Arena
StarBlood Arena released for PlayStation VR in April 2017 and was a shooter game where players became pilots in a futuristic combat arena. There were single-player, co-op, and multiplayer options available, but all required a constant internet connection as well as an active PlayStation Plus subscription.
In January of 2019, Sony announced that “multiplayer and all online features” for StarBlood Arena would cease on July 25, 2019, and as the game required a constant connection, this would result in the game being entirely unplayable after this date. Though there are physical disc copies out there, these too are unplayable now.