Here’s some bad news for game preservation and Battlestar Galactica fans. Black Lab Games and publisher Slitherine announced on November 6, 2025 that Battlestar Galactica Deadlock and all its DLC will be delisted from every platform starting November 15. That means if you want to play one of the best licensed strategy games ever made, you have exactly one week to purchase it before it disappears forever.
The announcement was straightforward and depressing. Starting November 15th, 2025, Battlestar Galactica Deadlock and all its DLCs will no longer be available for purchase on any platform. This marks the end of an era for our space fleet, and we want to give everyone a proper heads-up to grab the game while it’s still available. Anyone who already owns the game will be able to continue playing it without any restrictions, but new players will be locked out permanently.
Why Is This Happening
While Black Lab Games didn’t explicitly state the reason for delisting, licensing is almost certainly the culprit. These situations happen constantly in gaming when developers create titles based on TV shows, movies, or other licensed properties. The license agreements have expiration dates, and when those contracts run out, the games must be removed from sale.
The Battlestar Galactica IP is owned by NBCUniversal, and whatever deal Slitherine had to publish Deadlock appears to be ending. This isn’t uncommon. Games based on The Lord of the Rings, Marvel properties, Transformers, and countless other franchises have faced similar fates when their licenses expired and weren’t renewed.
What makes this particularly frustrating is that Deadlock is genuinely good. This isn’t some cheap cash-grab tie-in that deserves to fade into obscurity. It’s a well-crafted strategy game that captured the tension and tactical depth of the Battlestar Galactica universe. But quality doesn’t matter when legal agreements expire.
What Is Battlestar Galactica Deadlock
For those unfamiliar, Battlestar Galactica Deadlock launched in 2017 as a turn-based strategy game set during the First Cylon War. You play as an executive officer reporting to Lucinda Cain, stationed on the Daidalos mobile shipyard that serves as the Colonial Fleet’s command center. Your job is managing fleet battles against Cylon forces while juggling the political panic levels of various colony planets.
The gameplay sits somewhere between Total War and XCOM. Space battles are tactical affairs where you command capital ships, fighters, and support vessels against Cylon fleets. But unlike the show’s Second Cylon War where computer systems were isolated for safety, the First Cylon War features connected networks, meaning Cylons can hack your ships mid-battle to create additional crisis moments.
What really sold critics and fans was how well the game captured the feeling of being on the back foot, which is what Battlestar Galactica is all about. You’re constantly scrambling to hold the line with limited resources while trying to keep the Twelve Colonies unified. The tension, the desperate battles, the hard choices about which planets to defend, it all feels authentically Battlestar.
Eight Years of Support
Deadlock wasn’t just a one-and-done release. Black Lab Games supported it extensively with multiple DLC packs and expansions that added new ships, campaigns, and features. The Resurrection expansion in 2021 kicked off Season Two with a full campaign centered around the battlestar Galactica itself, complete with the Jupiter-class battlestar fans recognized from the show.
Other expansions added fan-favorite ships like the Celestra, the Revenant, and various Cylon vessels. Story campaigns explored different aspects of the First Cylon War. The developers kept refining and expanding the game for years, building it into something much larger than its initial release.
The game also featured multiplayer modes for 1v1 battles and co-op play. It’s unclear if those servers will remain operational after the delisting, though the announcement suggests the single-player campaign and skirmish modes will continue functioning for anyone who owns the game.
How to Buy It Before It’s Gone
If you want Battlestar Galactica Deadlock, act fast. The game is available on Steam, GOG, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. GOG has it at a 70 percent discount until November 17, pricing it at around $12 for the base game. That’s an absolute steal for the amount of content you’re getting.
Steam doesn’t have a discount at the time of writing, so you’ll pay full price of about $40 for the base game there. However, Steam does have bundle options that include various DLC packs if you want the complete experience. Given that all the DLC is also being delisted, grabbing bundles now makes sense if you’re interested.
The DLC includes substantial campaign additions and ship packs. If you’re going to buy the game at all, consider getting the major story expansions like Resurrection at minimum. You won’t get another chance once November 15 hits.
What Happens to Existing Owners
If you already own Battlestar Galactica Deadlock on any platform, nothing changes for you. The game will remain in your library permanently, and you can download and play it whenever you want. Delisting only affects the ability to purchase the game going forward, not access for existing owners.
This is standard practice for delistings caused by licensing issues. The publisher loses the right to sell new copies but isn’t required to revoke access from people who bought it while the license was active. That’s some consolation, at least owners aren’t losing what they paid for.
The Game Preservation Problem
Battlestar Galactica Deadlock’s delisting highlights a massive problem in modern gaming. Digital storefronts have made games more accessible than ever, but they’ve also made preservation more fragile. When a game gets delisted, it effectively ceases to exist for anyone who doesn’t already own it. There’s no used market for digital games, no way to find old copies at retro game stores, no path to legal access once it’s gone.
Physical copies of Deadlock exist for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but those will quickly become expensive collector’s items once the delisting happens and word spreads. And even physical copies can’t help PC players, who represent the game’s primary audience given its strategy genre roots.
This is why game preservation advocates push so hard for alternatives to the current system. When excellent games disappear because of licensing issues that have nothing to do with the game’s quality or the developer’s desire to keep it available, something is broken about how the industry operates.
What’s Next for Battlestar Galactica Games
Fortunately, Battlestar Galactica fans won’t be left without strategy game options for long. Developer Alt Shift is working on Battlestar Galactica Scattered Hopes, scheduled for Q1 2026. That game takes a very different approach as a story-rich tactical roguelite.
In Scattered Hopes, you’ll make decisions while navigating space and trying to avoid Cylon detection. When they inevitably find you, battles shift to real-time strategy where your goal isn’t winning but surviving long enough to activate your FTL drive and jump away. It’s inspired more by the show’s refugee fleet survival theme than Deadlock’s military command focus.
Whether Scattered Hopes will be as good as Deadlock remains to be seen, but at least the franchise will have representation in the strategy genre. Hopefully Alt Shift negotiated a longer license agreement to avoid facing the same delisting fate down the road.
Black Lab’s Track Record
It’s worth noting that Black Lab Games has made several good licensed strategy games beyond Deadlock. They also developed Warhammer 40,000 Gladius Relics of War, which continues receiving updates and expansions without licensing issues since Games Workshop actively supports long-term partnerships.
The studio clearly knows how to make engaging turn-based strategy games that do justice to their source material. It’s a shame that licensing realities are forcing Deadlock offline just as they were hitting their stride. The game has an 88 percent positive rating on Steam from over 5,000 reviews, proof that players appreciated what Black Lab accomplished.
FAQs
When is Battlestar Galactica Deadlock being delisted?
Starting November 15, 2025, Battlestar Galactica Deadlock and all its DLC will be removed from sale on all platforms including Steam, GOG, PlayStation Store, and Xbox Store. You have until that date to purchase it.
Why is Battlestar Galactica Deadlock being delisted?
While not officially confirmed, the delisting is almost certainly due to licensing agreement expiration. Black Lab Games’ contract to publish games using the Battlestar Galactica IP appears to be ending, requiring them to stop selling the game.
Can I still play Battlestar Galactica Deadlock if I already own it?
Yes, anyone who owns the game before November 15 can continue playing it without any restrictions. The delisting only affects the ability to purchase the game going forward, not access for existing owners.
Is there a sale on Battlestar Galactica Deadlock before delisting?
Yes, GOG has the game at 70 percent off until November 17, pricing it around $12 for the base game. Steam doesn’t have a discount at the time of the announcement, so you’ll pay full price there unless a sale appears.
What happens to the DLC for Battlestar Galactica Deadlock?
All DLC for the game is also being delisted on November 15, 2025. If you want any of the expansions like Resurrection or the various ship packs, you need to purchase them before that date.
Will multiplayer still work after delisting?
The announcement doesn’t clarify whether multiplayer servers will remain operational. The single-player campaign and skirmish modes will definitely continue working for existing owners, but the 1v1 and co-op multiplayer modes’ future is uncertain.
Is Battlestar Galactica Deadlock worth buying?
Yes, if you enjoy turn-based strategy games or Battlestar Galactica. The game has an 88 percent positive rating on Steam and was praised as one of the rare licensed games that actually does the source material justice with engaging tactical gameplay.
Are there other Battlestar Galactica games coming?
Yes, Battlestar Galactica Scattered Hopes is scheduled for Q1 2026. It’s a tactical roguelite with a different gameplay focus than Deadlock, emphasizing survival and escape rather than fleet command.
Conclusion
Battlestar Galactica Deadlock’s impending delisting is a frustrating reminder of how fragile digital game preservation can be. Eight years of development, expansions, community building, and positive reception mean nothing when licensing agreements expire. If you’ve been curious about this game or you’re a Battlestar Galactica fan who somehow missed it, you have until November 15 to grab it before it disappears potentially forever. At 70 percent off on GOG, there’s really no excuse not to pick it up if turn-based strategy interests you at all. Once it’s gone, the only legal way to play will be hunting down expensive physical copies for consoles, and PC players won’t even have that option. Don’t let this excellent licensed game become another casualty of the digital storefront era. Buy it now while you still can.