Three indie Xbox titles — Creepy Tale, Creepy Tale 2 and Strike Force Kitty — have been removed entirely from Microsoft’s digital storefront in a rare “hard delisting”. The removals follow a public dispute in which the developer alleges the publisher, No Gravity Games, failed to pay royalties for years, raising immediate questions about access for buyers, developer revenue and how storefronts handle legal disputes.
Confirmed removals and timing
Reporting aggregated by Pure Xbox and TrueAchievements identifies Creepy Tale, Creepy Tale 2 and Strike Force Kitty as the three games that were hard‑delisted from the Xbox Store this week. The developer behind Creepy Tale and Creepy Tale 2, Creepy Brothers (creepybrostudio), publicly stated on Twitter on July 21, 2026 that the games were removed “because the publisher has violated the terms of the agreement and has not paid royalty for several years.”
Pure Xbox also reports that the same titles are due to be removed from the PlayStation Store imminently and that they have already disappeared from the Nintendo eShop this week, though it is unclear from the reporting whether Switch owners retain the ability to re‑download if they previously purchased the games. Pure Xbox notes another title from the same publisher, Bullets & Brains, was also recently delisted.
How the hard delisting took effect
Unlike standard delistings — where a title is removed from sale but remains downloadable for existing owners — a hard delisting removes a title from sale and can block re‑downloads and even installed copies, depending on how a platform enforces license checks. Pure Xbox explains that some hard‑delisted games can still be installed via an achievements page or a Game Hub install button for players who previously owned them, but that workaround does not appear to work for these three titles.
Pure Xbox offers no official statement from Microsoft or details of a legal order; it notes speculation that Xbox may be complying with legal demands related to the developer‑publisher dispute. The reporting confines itself to the observable effects on the storefronts and the developer’s public statements.
Why it matters
The immediate consequence for consumers is loss of purchase access and, in some cases, the ability to re‑download titles they bought. Pure Xbox records reader responses expressing frustration: users expect digital purchases to remain accessible, and a hard delisting removes that assurance. For small developers, the developer’s claim of unpaid royalties also frames the removal as a symptom of commercial disputes that directly affect studio revenue.
For platform operators, hard delistings highlight the operational and legal choices stores make when disputes arise. Removing a product entirely limits new sales but can also sever existing download paths, which affects player trust and raises preservation concerns for niche titles.
Developer revenue, availability and preservation
The developer’s allegation — that No Gravity Games did not pay royalties for several years — connects the storefront action to revenue flows between publishers and creators. Pure Xbox reports the developer’s hope that the games will return under a new publisher, but provides no timeline or confirmation that a new agreement is imminent.
Availability is inconsistent across platforms and regions in this incident: Pure Xbox notes the titles were pulled from the Xbox Store, slated for removal from PlayStation, and removed from the Nintendo eShop, while commenters on the Pure Xbox story observed regional differences in eShop availability. The reporting does not resolve whether regional storefronts enforce delistings identically, only that the observable result is uneven access.
Preservation advocates have long warned that digital‑only distribution concentrates control with publishers and platform holders. In this case, Pure Xbox emphasises that hard delistings are rare — the site says it has not observed a major AAA title receive this treatment in the modern Xbox era — but that rarity does not eliminate the practical impact for affected players and the studios involved.
What to watch next
Key open questions remain. Pure Xbox lists several points to monitor: whether Microsoft or the console store platforms will issue an official explanation for the hard delistings; whether Creepy Brothers can reach a new publishing agreement to restore the titles; whether owners on Switch and other regions retain download access; and whether any refunds or remediation will be offered to players who cannot access purchased copies.
Pure Xbox says it will report further if Microsoft or the parties involved provide a statement. The timeline and legal mechanisms behind the removals are not detailed in the available reporting, so the duration and scope of the removals remain uncertain.
The immediate result is clear: a cluster of small indie titles has been pulled entirely from multiple storefronts amid a publisher‑developer dispute, leaving buyers and the developer in limbo while platforms and parties decide next steps.
Source: Pure Xbox