"That was a lie." That's Annapurna Interactive's official response to rumors circulating this week that Mixtape could eventually be pulled from digital storefronts due to expiring music licenses. Short, direct, and pretty hard to misread.
The concern wasn't unfounded. Games built around licensed music have a rough track record on digital storefronts. Titles like Forza Horizon entries have had tracks quietly removed over the years, and some games disappear entirely when licensing deals run dry. Given that Mixtape's entire identity is built around its soundtrack, featuring artists like The Smashing Pumpkins and Devo, players had real reason to wonder whether the game had a shelf life.
Why the delisting fears made sense
Mixtape, developed by Beethoven and Dinosaur (the same studio behind the BAFTA-winning The Artful Escape) and published by Annapurna Interactive, leans so hard into its licensed music that it doesn't even include a streamer mode. The studio has previously stated that the music is the soul of the game, not a feature that can be toggled off or swapped out. That kind of deep integration is exactly what makes music licensing questions so loaded for a game like this.
When fans started asking whether that dependency meant a ticking clock on the game's availability, the worry spread fast.
Perpetual licenses and a Billy Corgan story
Mixtape director Johnny Galvatron has confirmed that the licenses were negotiated in perpetuity, meaning they don't expire. Annapurna backed that up directly on X, calling the delisting claims a lie.
Galvatron also gave some insight into how the licensing process actually worked. The team used Pink Floyd as a kind of boundary test, pushing to see what was achievable, before being told approval from the band was unlikely. They pulled back there. But for most of what they wanted, producer Woody Woodward said they got "pretty much everything they asked for."
The Smashing Pumpkins approval reportedly came down to a simple pitch. The game has a moment where character Stacy turns to the screen and essentially declares how good the Smashing Pumpkins are. Show that to Billy Corgan, and the answer becomes obvious. Corgan saw it, agreed, and signed off.
The licenses for Mixtape's music were secured in perpetuity by developer Beethoven and Dinosaur, meaning the game will not be delisted when licenses expire, unlike many other music-heavy titles.
Story moments drive the music forward
What this actually means for players
Here's the thing: perpetual licenses are genuinely unusual in this space. Most studios negotiate time-limited deals because they're cheaper, and then quietly deal with the fallout years later. The fact that Beethoven and Dinosaur locked in permanent rights suggests they built Mixtape with longevity in mind, not just as a short-run indie release.
For anyone who has already played through the game's roughly 3-hour runtime, this is reassuring news if you ever want to revisit it. For anyone who hasn't played it yet, the concern about buying something that might disappear is now off the table.
If you're working through everything the game has to offer, the Mixtape trophy and achievement guide covering all 27 trophies breaks down every unlock, including the trickier ones tied to specific story choices and minigames. The game is short, but it's worth seeing all of it.
