Microsoft Clarifies Availability of Delisted XBLA Titles

Microsoft sparked much hatred for itself last week when it announced that it would remove underperforming games from Xbox Live Arcade in the future. The company, hoping to quell the fire it started, has cleared up the confusion regarding the delisting, clarifying that such games will still be available for purchase.

“The reality is we’re not removing any games from the service, if you will,” Xbox product manager Aaron Greenberg told MTV Multiplayer.”They’ll always be there for purchase. Think about a book on Amazon. It’s not always going to be featured on the front page of the store.”

Basically, games with poor sales or quality will be removed from the proper storefront, but can be redownloaded if already bought or purchased if an Xbox Live friend uses the recommend feature.

So, there you have it - those games will still be delisted, but will only be available for those who already bought it or if recommended by a friend.