Fist Puncher
TheRealMattKain  [developer] Mar 6, 2024 @ 5:18pm
5
Fist Puncher to be retired by Warner Bros.
Hi all! This is Matt, one of the original developers of Fist Puncher. It saddens me to announce that we received notice from Warner Bros. Discovery (the owners of Adult Swim Games) that Fist Puncher will be retired and removed from Steam in the next 60 days.

We've asked that Warner Bros. simply transfer the game to our Steam publisher account so that it can stay active, but so far they have said no with the reason being that they made the universal decision not to transfer the games back to the original studios and do not have the resources to do so. No, the transfer process is not complicated. It likely takes about 2 minutes on their end:
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/gettingstarted/managing_apps/transfer

This is incredibly disappointing. I'm not entirely sure what will even happen if the game gets delisted, but it makes me sick to think that purchased games will presumably be removed from users' libraries. Our community and our players have 10+ years of discussions, screenshots, gameplay footage, leaderboards, player progress, unlocked characters, Steam achievements, Steam cards, etc. which could all be lost. We have Kickstarter backers who helped fund Fist Puncher (even some who have cameo appearances in the game) who will eventually no longer be able to play it.

That said, let's focus on some positives! I want to thank EVERYONE who bought or played this game. You are all awesome and helped us bring our dream game to life. I played through the entire game during the pandemic, and there were some silly and outrageous moments that I had forgotten about that brought a smile to my face. If you unlocked all the characters, then you are a true hero. If you found ALL the items, then you are something even crazier... I don't have words, but your devotion to this game is epic. If you ever posted a screenshot, beat a level, left a review, or even logged a minute on this game, you RULE! Thank you SO much! For anyone who ever reached out or met me at a show (CAX, GDC, PAX, IndieCade, etc.), don't be a stranger. My DMs are always open. I love videogames and videogame history, and I'm always open to chat!

And, I feel this needs to be said somewhere... but... Videogames are art. Videogames connect us. Videogames are important. Videogames are part of our cultural heritage and should be preserved.

We will continue to press Warner Bros. to transfer Fist Puncher back to us. If you have any fun stories about Fist Puncher (or even not so fun stories), please post them below. Wish us luck, please share this message, and THANK YOU!

Onward!
Matt and Jake (Team2Bit)
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Showing 1-15 of 74 comments
shade00 Mar 6, 2024 @ 11:20pm 
another one bytes the dust rather sad
goodluck to everything you do in the future :sadkitty:
RVK Mar 6, 2024 @ 11:27pm 
Sad to hear. Games are art that should be preserved and I'm hoping they can transfer the licenses. However, if they are unable to, I wonder if you'd agree to a sale for many of us to preserve it in our libraries before it gets removed. I saw the game had a 90% discount in the past, would it be possible to have something like that or a base price reduction before it gets removed?
wasabi™ Mar 6, 2024 @ 11:33pm 
Damn I am real sorry to hear that, loved the game you created and completely agree, video games are art and should be preserved. It's something I take quite seriously as well.

It's a sad state when you see those that don't regard them as such.

Really hoping something manages to work out for you guys, if not thank you for everything you have done over the years for the community.
Last edited by wasabi™; Mar 6, 2024 @ 11:34pm
shade00 Mar 6, 2024 @ 11:41pm 
sadly seems like WB is cutting various studios
a few news articles point to this including rooster teeth
this is a major shutdown of so many developers this is so messed up
shade00 Mar 6, 2024 @ 11:47pm 
https://store.steampowered.com/app/251650/Rays_The_Dead/
finding these under adult swim publisher
but they say on the store pages some of them have different publishers
so hopefully there not messing around when they say they cant transfer things over
not sure when the past ones got transfered or if its a mistake on steams end
:ALgloomEmoji: this is just all so messed up


edit: question
is it possible for the original devs to republish the game once its removed from adult swims side?
Last edited by shade00; Mar 7, 2024 @ 1:00am
amikros Mar 7, 2024 @ 1:04am 
Originally posted by TheRealMattKain:
This is incredibly disappointing. I'm not entirely sure what will even happen if the game gets delisted, but it makes me sick to think that purchased games will presumably be removed from users' libraries.
The usual thing in these cases is that they are not further available for purchase, but they remain on users' libraries and can still be downloaded after they've been delisted. Still sucks for those who can't buy the game in time (it should also still be possible to buy keys from third party sellers if needed, but these get expensive over time as no more keys are produced).

When a game is about to get delisted, the publisher usually makes a last time deep discount to reap some final bucks and get the game highlighted for people interested in it.

Thank you for confirmation on the delisting. I've eyed Fist Puncher in the past and I will pay attention in order to possibly purchase it before it gets delisted.
Last edited by amikros; Mar 7, 2024 @ 1:05am
wasabi™ Mar 7, 2024 @ 1:22am 
Originally posted by shade00:
sadly seems like WB is cutting various studios
a few news articles point to this including rooster teeth
this is a major shutdown of so many developers this is so messed up

Yeah I have noticed it ramping up now from WB, so sad to see.
Last edited by wasabi™; Mar 7, 2024 @ 1:23am
l-xXx-l Mar 7, 2024 @ 2:32am 
can you do final sale or reduce price of the game before removal please?
Dear developer for your true and loyal users please before removing your games from the Steam store provide a reduction in the base price of games or make the maximum allowable discount. Thank you.
Cocytan Creator Mar 7, 2024 @ 5:29am 
You mean we won't be able to download even if we paid for it??
dfg Mar 7, 2024 @ 5:39am 
Originally posted by TheRealMattKain:
This is incredibly disappointing. I'm not entirely sure what will even happen if the game gets delisted, but it makes me sick to think that purchased games will presumably be removed from users' libraries. Our community and our players have 10+ years of discussions, screenshots, gameplay footage, leaderboards, player progress, unlocked characters, Steam achievements, Steam cards, etc. which could all be lost. We have Kickstarter backers who helped fund Fist Puncher (even some who have cameo appearances in the game) who will eventually no longer be able to play it.

Originally posted by Cocytan Creator:
You mean we won't be able to download even if we paid for it??

Extremely unlikely it will be removed from libraries or unable to download. Store de-listing just basically means people won't be able to buy new copies except for keys through the black/grey markets.
Last edited by dfg; Mar 7, 2024 @ 5:39am
Foxhack Mar 7, 2024 @ 6:39am 
They won't transfer the game to you because they're delisting all of these games to get tax breaks. It's the same ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ they've been doing with fully finished movies that they don't release. Giving this game back to the developers won't get them their tax break.

I'm very sorry this is happening to you. I never bought your game, but have heard good things about it.
TheRealMattKain  [developer] Mar 7, 2024 @ 9:33am 
Originally posted by RVK:
Sad to hear. Games are art that should be preserved and I'm hoping they can transfer the licenses. However, if they are unable to, I wonder if you'd agree to a sale for many of us to preserve it in our libraries before it gets removed. I saw the game had a 90% discount in the past, would it be possible to have something like that or a base price reduction before it gets removed?
I like this idea, but unfortunately all sales have to be approved and configured by the Adult Swim/Warner Bros team. Since they won't take the time to transfer the game to us (a trivially easy process), I doubt they would take the time to set up a sale.
TheRealMattKain  [developer] Mar 7, 2024 @ 9:35am 
Originally posted by shade00:
is it possible for the original devs to republish the game once its removed from adult swims side?

It will be possible. This is a route we are considering. It would fragment the community and not be the ideal path, but we will have it as an option since we will own the IP and game.
TheRealMattKain  [developer] Mar 7, 2024 @ 9:38am 
Originally posted by amikros:
The usual thing in these cases is that they are not further available for purchase, but they remain on users' libraries and can still be downloaded after they've been delisted.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the case. However, the less control we have over the game, the less we can guarantee that it remains active. Steam policies change (heck, when we first created Fist Puncher we HAD to go through a publisher with a connection to Steam or use Greenlight), and I hope this is one that does not.
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