Due to license agreements expiring between developer/publisher Sega and rights holder Disney, Castle of Illusion will be removed from all digital stores on September 2nd. Owners will be able to download it still, presumably in perpetuity. It's so frustrating that something like this can even happen and I'm surprised it doesn't happen nearly as often.

Many retailers are offering it heavily discounted for the last day it will be available, so check PSN or Xbox Live for a sale, or pick it up on Humble or IndieGala as a Steam key at 85% off.

I bought it because I don't like the idea of never getting to play it, and in most cases I don't buy something with the knowledge that I will be able to in the future. Not true in this case.

Worth noting that it was also made backwards compatible for Xbox One, which means that if you buy it on 360 you will be able to play it on the One, and given what Microsoft has said it seems likely it will be playable on future iterations of Xbox hardware.

I agree that this is super frustrating. While I understand why Disney would do it, I think the reasons are stupid. This is not a universally panned game that tarnishes the brand, and its availability won't make future Mickey Mouse games less desirable. If anything it keeps Mickey Mouse at least slightly more relevant, though that's pretty negligible too.

Of course it's nowhere near as bad as Marvel yanking the Marvel vs. Capcom games from the digital storefronts and then doing NOTHING videogame wise with Marvel characters except releasing mediocre ports of Deadpool and the Ultimate Alliance games (I guess you can count the Lego and Disney Infinity games too, though they're aimed at a different audience). As smart as Marvel is with movies they seem to have no clue how to manage their video game properties.

The MvC stuff is probably a result of some licensing arrangement with Activision, though, so that at least makes a modicum of sense, even if it's total BS.

I remember getting this through Playstation Plus and I'm curious if it'll remain as part of the Instant Game Collection.

@darth_navster: I imagine it will, since when you add a game from playstation plus you are purchasing a license still. I add every game regardless of whether I intend to download or play it. It'll probably let you download it just the same as people who paid money for it, and they're keeping it available for them anyway.

@darth_navster: Generally yes, though you can DL it to be safe.

So after the license expires, would it be considered abandonware or what? I'm always confused when it comes to this. I mean, if it isn't supported or available to buy in any way, shouldn't I be allowed to download it via torrents for example?

@magmamud: it could be argued that they have the rights over the IP and the code of the game, so no.

Which is why most of these vanish into the ether. No one can get the rights to put them back out.

@madman356647: Ah, I see. Well that's a fucking bummer. So the game is just lost in this void with no legitimate way to get it anymore.

I'm glad I already own a copy, but yeah. This is pretty lame.

If it were cheaper on Xbox I'd grab this just to have access to it for future achievement hunting...but 15 bucks is a bit high for a game I'd only want for that reason.

@bigsocrates: It's not Disney or Marvel yanking the games. Capcom and Sega don't want to reacquire the license. These are games that are making them pretty much zero dollars. So why would they pay money to continue making zero dollars?

I don't own this game or have any opinion on its quality but for a 3-year-old digital only game to die off like this really sucks. We already have a huge problem with preservation but now it's happening to games that are practically new.

I don't get this, take the game away, kill any chance for further sales and then...what? Just let it rot? Why would anyone want that? Why would the Copyright holder want that, do they hate money?

Looks like Steam have also put the game on sale. Doesn't look like Xbox has but it might be on PSN, check your regional store. Last chance!

I grabbed a copy on Steam because it was put on sale.

I might have considered getting it on the Xbox but didn't really feel up to paying full price for it when the Steam equivalent was cheaper.

@magmamud: Abandonware isn't really a legal status. I suppose there are probably some licenses out there with no owner at all, but the great majority of all "abandonware" are games that it is illegal to download for free, but for which there is no one actively enforcing the copyright.

If my memory serves me correctly that game had some really nasty jumps. Anywho game was the price of a double cheeseburger so I bought it.

While I have no idea how it compares to the consoles & PC version, I just want to point out that the Android version of this game is available for free at Amazon.