Xbox game suddenly delisted forever without warning as downside of digital becomes clear
Topics: Xbox, Retro Gaming, Indie Games, EA
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft
Topics: Xbox, Retro Gaming, Indie Games, EA
An underrated Xbox exclusive has been delisted without any warning, and it’s unlikely ever to return.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days, you’re going to be well aware of the PlayStation controversy. The company announced that as of January 2028, it will no longer produce games on an actual disc as it prepares for an all-digital future ahead of the PlayStation 6 launch.
What’s more, this announcement came alongside the revelation that the PS3 and PS Vita’s PlayStation digital stores are shutting down permanently, and just before that, Sony announced that it would be removing around 500 movies from its digital libraries without providing a refund.
To say that Sony has been under a lot of scrutiny lately, and that gamers are worried about digital ownership right now, is a massive understatement, to say the least. Even Xbox is reportedly preparing for an all-digital future for its next-gen console, currently dubbed “Project Helix”.
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As brought to our attention by Comicbook.com, Boom Boom Rocket, released in 2007 and developed by Bizarre Creations, has been removed from the Xbox Marketplace, seemingly without warning. Furthermore, this game was also brought to the Xbox One backwards compatible library in 2016 and was playable on the Xbox Series X/S.
Despite being published by Electronic Arts, Boom Boom Rocket was very much an indie-supported game by the giant publisher and was released during a time when Xbox Live Arcade was at its peak during the Xbox 360 era.
While Boom Boom Rocket never knocked it out of the park in terms of its review scores, as suggested by its 69 score on Metacritic, it still gained an appreciative following.
“Probably the first game I played when I got my Xbox 360 Arcade. What an era,” said 1440pReborn.
“Aww man, this was such a fun, unique music rhythm game. One of my most played 360 Arcade games up there with Hexic and Marble Blast Ultra,” replied Stupid_Sexy_Vaporeon.
“That's one of those games that I kept telling myself, ’I'll get it eventually’. Well, I guess not,” exclaimed Chromeglow. “It would be nice if they would give people warnings when they are going to delist games.”
Yes, if you’ve purchased Boom Boom Rocket at any point before its delisting, you can still play it. Also, it should remain in your library forever, allowing you to delete and reinstall it as you please. So, fear not.
That being said, it’s still not outside the realm of possibility that it could be removed from your library one day, after all, that can happen to just about any digital purchase “we own”. However, seeing as Boom Boom Rocket features no licensed music, it should be exempt from that action.
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