The coming-of-age video game Mixtape has been making waves with its impressive soundtrack, featuring licensed music from artists such as Devo and The Smashing Pumpkins. Fans of the game were worried that it might be delisted in the future due to music licensing issues. However, the game’s publisher, Annapurna Interactive, and developer, Beethoven and Dinosaur, have reassured fans that they have taken steps to prevent this from happening.
The game’s creative director, Johnny Galvatron, addressed these concerns in a recent interview with Kotaku. He explained that the team had paid extra to maintain the licenses for each track in perpetuity, which means that the game’s soundtrack will remain intact for years to come. This is a significant investment, but it ensures that players will be able to enjoy the game’s music without worrying about it being removed due to licensing issues.
Annapurna Interactive followed up on this interview with a statement on twitter, saying:
“We heard some people say MIXTAPE would be delisted due to music licenses expiring. That was a lie.” This statement was a clear attempt to alleviate any concerns that fans may have had about the game’s future.
We heard some people say MIXTAPE would be delisted due to music licenses expiring.
That was a lie.
Have a great weekend, everyone. https://t.co/C3VesfWPpz– Annapurna Interactive (@A_i)
The concerns about Mixtape being delisted are not entirely unfounded, as several games have suffered a similar fate in the past. For example, Rock Band 4 was delisted last year due to expired music licenses, and the original Alan Wake was delisted in 2017 for the same reason. Even Grand Theft Auto 4 had to replace some of its songs after the licenses expired in 2018. However, it seems that Beethoven and Dinosaur have taken steps to prevent this from happening to Mixtape.
The game’s developer had a clear vision for the game’s soundtrack, and they were determined to make it work. One example of a “boundary test” idea that was floated but didn’t pan out involved asking Pink Floyd for a song, but the team’s supervisor cautioned that the classic rock band wasn’t likely to give them the track they were after. However, when it came to getting the other tunes they wanted, Galvatron said that the team never ran into any real horror stories and got “pretty much everything [they] asked for.” He also shared an anecdote about how the team got permission from Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan to use one of the band’s songs in the game. “There’s just so many points in the game where Stacy turns the screen and says ‘This is the Smashing Pumpkins, and it’s fucking sick,'” he said. “You send that to [Smashing Pumpkins frontman] Billy Corgan and he goes, ‘This is the Smashing Pumpkins and it’s fucking sick, yeah, they can do that. That’s fine.'”
Mixtape was released on May 7, 2026, for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S. The game received a glowing review from IGN, with a perfect score of 10/10. The review described the game as “a musical delight from start to finish” and said that it “sets a new standard for coming-of-age stories in video games and does so with a masterful sense of style.”
