Annapurna Interactive: Mixtape Won't Be Delisted Due To Music Lisences Expiring

1 week ago 6

Published May 16, 2026, 9:01 AM EDT

Jake Valentine is a Staff Writer at DualShockers with more than two decades of experience covering the video game industry. Since 2004, he has written about games across news, reviews, guides, lists, interviews, and event coverage, with experience covering major shows, preview events, breaking news, and one-on-one developer interviews.

Before joining DualShockers, Jake contributed to Outrun Gaming, GameRant, and The Game Fanatics. He has also worked in editorial, brand management, and operations roles, giving him a broad perspective on both games coverage and digital media. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Media and Broadcasting.

One of the year's most critically acclaimed and controversial games is Mixtape.

It's a narrative-first adventure, admittedly light on gameplay, but heavy on emotional storytelling. As someone born in 1987, it's a game that hit a little close to home. Our reviewer, Ethan Krieger, felt the same way, even if he graduated in 2010. Here's how he closed his review, in which he gave Mixtape a perfect score.

Witty, hilarious writing, incredible voice performances, gorgeous art direction, and consistently creative gameplay beats are paired with a flawless soundtrack that serves as the backbone for every single scene perfectly in a '90s period piece that knows exactly what to drive home.

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The music of Mixtape is its most important part, so much so that developers Beethoven and Dinosaur said that they won't be adding a Streamer Mode for that reason. "Mixtape is about music," they said before mentioning that if you take away the music, you take away a part of the core gameplay experience.

However, with any game that uses licensed music comes another possible issue: the game being delisted from stores once the music licenses expire. Thankfully, that won't be an issue.

Don't Be Surprised If Mixtape Is Never Delisted

In a conversation with Kotaku, the game's creative director, Johnny Galvatron, said that they paid extra to license the game's music in perpetuity. In other words, the license has no expiration date, so there's no worry about Mixtape being delisted, as has happened to Rock Band's songs or to licensed music in television shows on streaming services due to licensing issues.

Publisher Annapurna Interactive took to social media to once again remind people that there's nothing to worry about.

We heard some people say MIXTAPE would be delisted due to music licenses expiring. That was a lie. Have a great weekend, everyone.

I mentioned the television example because Scrubs has, in the past, notoriously suffered from licensing issues, removing vital songs from its most iconic scenes.

Given how important the soundtrack is to the overall experience of Mixtape, knowing there won't be any awkward issues in the near or distant future means everyone can enjoy the game without fear of it being removed from stores. It's also nice to know that there won't ever be a world where we get some random cover band doing a Smashing Pumpkins song integral to Mixtape's story.