Players who grew up in the 80s and 90s know the good and bad of licensed games. For every good Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game made by Konami or a Disney game made by Capcom, there was something absurdly bad and uninteresting, like anything based on The Terminator or Jurassic Park.
8 Best Nintendo Switch Licensed Games, Ranked
From Marvel to Dragon Ball, the Nintendo Switch is home to a fantastic library of officially licensed games.
Licensed games have almost gone away, or at least they’re not as common as they used to be, besides some legacy sports games or anime adaptations. The tricky thing about them nowadays is that publishers can randomly remove them from digital storefronts or remove functionality and online support. For fans of these games or properties, players may want to get on board before they are gone.
6 Beat Saber
PlayStation Losing Multiplayer
Beat Saber
- Released
- May 21, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- Genre(s)
- Rhythm
- End Date: January 21st, 2026
The first game worth mentioning on the chopping block is Beat Saber, which is technically not a licensed-based game. However, as the whole point of the game is based around licensed music from Lady Gaga to Imagine Dragons, the upcoming change is something fans will want to know. For clarity, Beat Saber is a VR-based game that became popular on the PS4 and PC-back VR headsets, wherein players timed their saber attacks to the beat of music similar to rhythm-based games like Guitar Hero. It was released in 2019.
As of June 18, 2025, Beat Saber will no longer be getting new content on PlayStation platforms. It’s not getting delisted, and the music can still be purchased, but come January 21, 2026, players can no longer enjoy Beat Saber with friends on PlayStation consoles. That’s when the multiplayer features are going to disappear. It’s only a matter of time after that, when the game and its content could disappear too. For now, let’s hope for the best for PlayStation fans and for PC fans as well.
5 Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Battle Chronicle
The Dungeons Are Closing Up
- Developers: Aiming, Team CARAVAN
- Publisher: Aiming
- Released: August 24, 2023
- Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, PS4, PS5
- End Date: September 29, 2025
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Is a Light Novel series that began in 2013, which later got an anime adaptation in 2015. It’s fairly popular enough to get several games, including Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Battle Chronicle, which is also referred to as DanMachi: Battle Chronicle.
8 Best Uses Of Licensed Music In Video Games
Many games use licensed music to enhance the experience, but these games do it the best.
DanMachi: Battle Chronicl e is a free-to-play game that hit a plethora of platforms from mobile to PC to PlayStation. The service began in 2023, and as of the end of July, players will no longer be able to purchase anything, and then September spells the end for all services. Fans of the series better download this action RPG quickly because they are running out of time.
4 PGA TOUR 2K21
Losing Multiplayer For Golfers
PGA Tour 2K21
- Released
- August 21, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Sports
- End Date: October 30, 2025
PGA TOUR 2K21 was launched in 2020 and found mild success in sales and in reviews. It’s not as whimsical as golf games like Mario Golf or Hot Shots Golf, but PGA TOUR 2K21 was aimed at a crowd who wanted to experience a more immersive sim-like golf game. Unfortunately, for anyone looking for this game digitally now, they cannot buy it as it was delisted in January. The Switch version’s storefront is strangely still up compared to other platforms, but that may change any day now.
Physical copies and pre-purchased digital copies are in trouble, too. As of August 30, the game will no longer accept payments for in-game transactions. In October, all online functionality will cease, but the game can still be played offline in certain modes. Sports games are meant to be played competitively, so PGA TOUR 2K21 will definitely be losing a part of its identity come October.
3 Star Wars: Hunters
Time To Go Back To Battlefront
Star Wars: Hunters
- Released
- June 4, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Genre(s)
- Shooter, Action
- End Date: October 1, 2025
Star Wars: Hunters was delayed several times, but it was finally released in 2024 on Switch and mobile platforms. It’s best to think of the game as an Overwatch clone, as players can pick some generic characters based on Star Wars classes, from bounty hunters to Jedi.
Unfortunately for fans who really got into the game in 2024, it is shutting down in October, and there will be no way to play online after that. There are a plethora of online-supported Star Wars games out there, though, like Star Wars Battlefront 2, that players are still engaging with despite it launching in 2017. At least there are other options like that out there, and players do at least have a few months of fun left with Star Wars: Hunters.
2 Tribe Nine
A Short Lifespan From A Big Creator
Tribe Nine
- Released
- February 19, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- End Date: November 27, 2025
Tribe Nine was released on February 20, 2025, and now it’s getting delisted on November 27, 2025, which is wild. The game is based on an anime that launched in 2022 about a post-apocalyptic society that plays games of extreme baseball to settle disputes. It was a zany idea for a sports-based anime, but fun at the same time.
10 Best Licensed Tie In Games
Licensed tie-in video games are a common way of promoting other mediums like movies, and while these games vary in quality these are some solid gems.
It’s unreal that the game, after being delayed and teased to fans of the anime for years, is shutting down after less than a year of service. It was made in collaboration by the creator of Danganronpa, Kazutaka Kodaka. He started his own company, Too Kyo Games, to make projects like this and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, which is secretly one of 2025’s best tactical RPGs. For players who don’t like playing games on mobile devices, Tribe Nine runs decently on Steam Deck, and it’s worth looking into.
1 WWE 2K24
Wrestle Alone After September
WWE 2K24
- Released
- March 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sports, Fighting
- End Date: September 30, 2025
WWE fans are used to their favorite games losing support after a year or two. The online servers shutting down in September for WWE 2K24 shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. With positive reviews and players laying the smack down on friends for months now, it is still a shame.
It’s wild that PGA TOUR 2K21, as a licensed-based sports game, had more of a legacy than WWE 2K24. At least fans can still play the game offline, but it’s just not the same thing. Imagine if Capcom shut down Street Fighter 6’s servers after just a year. That would have truly been unprecedented, but either way, this is a blow for wrestling fans everywhere, even if the newest game, WWE 2K25, is still around.
8 Best Bandai Namco Games Based On Anime, Ranked
From Goku to Luffy, these games have helped anime characters shine on a variety of consoles.