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What games are no longer available in XBLA?

Why have they been removed, and are they still available in some regions?

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1 Answer

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Games can be removed from XBLA if they meet Microsofts criteria, which basically says if the game is not doing well, it can be removed. Once delisted, I don't think they're available in any region anymore.

Microsoft announced that games older than 6 months would become eligible for delisting from the service if they had a Metacritic score below 65 and a conversion rate below 6%. The objective was to "focus the catalogue more on larger, more immersive games and make it much easier to find the games you are looking for."

Games that have been removed include

  • Battlestar Galactica
  • Lost Cities
  • Yaris
  • Double Dragon
  • Cyberball 2072
  • Defender
  • Paperboy
  • Rootbeer Tapper
  • Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
  • Robotron
  • Joust
  • Gauntlet
  • Smash TV
  • Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
  • EA Sports Fantasy Football Live Draft Tracker
  • EA Sports Fantasy Football Live Score Tracker
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Are there any sites that keep track of this information before the games are removed from XBLA, to give you one last chance to buy 'em before they disappear forever? – Christian Apr 14 '11 at 14:30
@Christian, not that I know of. It seems to be a case by case basis as to whether the games are silently removed or there is an announcement ahead of time. – Brandon Apr 14 '11 at 14:45
Usually websites like trueachievements.com do a good job mentioning things like this in their news feeds, but I don't know a website just dedicated to this. – user1207381 Apr 13 '12 at 2:51

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