Numerous Windows Phone 7 Xbox games delisted this week over In-App Purchase issues

When Windows Phone 8 launched in November of last twelvemonth, it presently become clear that sure Xbox Windows Phone 7 games were incompatible with the new OS. Microsoft'south immediate solution to the trouble was to partially delist all of those games, removing their listings from the Windows Telephone website. They did this without informing the developers of those games. Later we published an article exposing the issue, the games somewhen fabricated it back to the spider web store with updated compatibility data.

Nosotros tell you all this because Microsoft has simply made a like but even more than harmful maneuver. This week, no less than eleven Windows Phone 7 games were completely delisted from the Shop. They tin't be redownloaded past people who purchased them. And several of the game's developers were NOT informed by Microsoft of the issues leading to their removal or the removal itself. Read on for the total scoop!

Games gone away

Beards & Beaks

The following games have been delisted:

• Beards & Beaks from Microsoft Studios
• Bug Hamlet from Glu Mobile
• Chickens Can't Fly from Amused Sloth
• Contract Killer from Glu Mobile
• Extraction: Project Outbreak from Chillingo
• Gun Bros from Glu Mobile
• KenKen from Capcom (does not have IAPs)
• Monster Burner from Ubisoft
• Tentacles from Printing Play/Microsoft Studios
• Turn N Run from MaxNick
• Zombies!!! from Babaroga

The reason for their removal (other than KenKen) is simple: In-App Purchases. For unknown reasons, Windows Phone seven never had a proper platform-wide In-App Purchase protocol. Every game published for the older OS that included IAPs did so by accepting Microsoft Points as currency. No other payment methods were supported, nor was the Microsoft Points payment available to non-Xbox games or apps. Not the most well-conceived arrangement.

That foreign choice of payment systems came to bear when Microsoft finally decommissioned Microsoft Points entirely concluding month. The Microsoft Points balances of Xbox 360 users automatically converted to local currency, the new payment standard for all Microsoft platforms.

Gun Bros

Unfortunately, it seems that Microsoft completely forgot most the 11 Windows Telephone games listed to a higher place (and a few more than nosotros'll get to in a moment) in the time leading up to that conversion. With Microsoft Points no longer in circulation, the In-App Purchases of those games simply ceased to function. That was specially damning to Bug Village, Contract Killer, and Gun Bros. None of them proficient games, just all were free to play and thus relied on IAPs to make a profit.

I would contend that the solution to the trouble is to contact the developers and either provide them with a new payment protocol or ask them to remove IAPs from their games via update. Simply Microsoft's solution was only to delist all eleven games entirely, even the ones that weren't complimentary to play.

Worse, it appears that Microsoft did not notify several of the developers – if whatsoever. Nosotros contacted all of the affected developers (other than Capcom, who have never been willing to discuss KenKen in any capacity), and multiple developers responded that they had not been contacted by Microsoft about the IAP issue or the delisting of their games. These game creators learned of the situation from customer complaints, non the platform holder.

Programmer responses

Not every affected developer wanted to publicly comment on the issue, and nosotros're still waiting on responses from a few of them. But nosotros do have official responses several. If more responses come up in, nosotros'll add them to this section of the article.

Babaroga

Andreja Djokovic of Babaroga explained:

"[We will] pull Zombies!!! from the Xbox portfolio on the phone and self-publish it."

Zombies!!!  - a horror-themed lath game - launched on Windows Phone 7 in January 2022. Its sole downloadable expansion 'Zombies 3.five' arrived in March 2022. That expansion was sold equally an IAP and led to the game's delisting. The 'Zombies three.5' expansion is not available for the Windows 8 version of Zombies!!! and thus that version remains unaffected by these circumstances.

This will not exist the first instance of an Xbox Windows Phone game leaving the Store and returning as an indie game. Doodle Jump, originally published by Game House on Windows Phone seven, disappeared earlier this twelvemonth when the game'south publishing understanding expired. Creator Lima Sky afterwards self-published Doodle Jump equally an indie game on Windows Phone eight. Other games like Fairway Solitaire (which Babaroga ported for Big Fish Games) have been announced as Xbox titles only to drib Xbox condition prior to release.

Tickled Sloth

Catalin Zima-Zegreanu of Amused Sloth delivered a slightly more upbeat response:

"We've contacted Microsoft to get more details on what nosotros need to do. Our intention is to fully support Chickens Can't Fly going frontward and volition make an update equally soon every bit possible to get the game back online."

Chickens Can't Fly arrived in Feb 2022 as part of that year's Must Have Games promotion. A few months later received a massive content update that rebalanced the difficulty, fixed Achievement issues, and added avatar awards. The same update added two IAPs: a new level and a ready of character skins. Nosotros later went on to name Chickens Can't Wing as one of the five all-time Xbox Windows Phone games of 2022. Tickled Sloth will shortly be releasing their game on iOS and Android. Permit's promise they tin can bring information technology back to Windows Phone also.

MaxNick

Nikolay Verevkin of MaxNick writes:

"We were forced to exclude IAPs in our Turn N Run game and programme to resubmit information technology soon. We regret this state of affairs , but do not despair."

Turn N Run launched in Nov 2022. It briefly experienced Windows Telephone 8 compatibility issues, which the developers quickly fixed. Its IAPs consisted of optional hint purchases.

Miniclip games

Not every Windows Phone 7 game with IAPs has been removed from the Shop. Four games from Swiss publisher Miniclip remain on the Store:

• Gravity Guy
• Fragger
• iStunt 2
• Monster Island

Gravity Guy really received an update earlier this week that removed its IAPs. Before, players could buy "Slowdowns" in social club to brand the game's steep difficulty more manageable. Postal service-update, any Slowdowns the thespian had (including iii uses provided with new installations) will even so be available for use. Miniclip only removed the power to buy more of them. Equally you might await, this makes the nearly incommunicable game pretty much fully impossible. But at least information technology'due south still around.

As for the other games, all three still have their IAP screens intact. The IAP items are listed in Microsoft Points, as yous can see from the Monster Island screenshot in a higher place. Of course the purchases don't actually work.

Information technology'due south quite possible that Miniclip will update its remaining Windows Phone 7 games and remove their IAPs as they did with Gravity Guy. We're curious how those games survived the culling. Perhaps Miniclip negotiated something with Microsoft? We've reached out to the publisher and will update this section if they reply.

Chances for return

Poor KenKen didn't even have IAPs.

Two representatives from Microsoft have commented on the IAP and delisting problems via the Xbox support forums:

"At this time there may still be some in-app DLC that ask for MSP in some games and that will simply not work when you try to brand that purchase. This really volition vary by game but at this fourth dimension at that place is no ETA on if/when this will be resolved. Pitiful for the unfortunate answer."

"We don't have whatever specifics regarding why those titles may have been removed at this time, but every bit mentioned past Mister Blitz, this is something that is being looked into. However we don't have any further details to share currently equally to when this may be resolved."

Based on how the Windows Telephone 8 compatibility issue played out, I await that only a few of the 11 games will render to the Store. Of the 32 games to have experienced Windows Phone 8 compatibility problems, 21 remain incompatible. KenKen (which played fine on Windows Phone eight and even so inexplicably became unavailable on WP8 devices presently after release) is probably not coming back.

Cheers to Axel for the original tip!

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/11-windows-phone-7-games-delisted

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