Xbox 360 Marketplace Closes on July 29th / Ghostbusters Items To Buy NOW!

If you're a retro gamer like me, and you've not already heard, Microsoft will close the Xbox 360 Marketplace (store) on July 29, 2024. After that date, you will not be able to buy any games or DLC from marketplace.xbox.com or through a Xbox 360 console. As a result, some Ghostbusters games and items will be lost, possibly forever. If you have a Xbox 360, and you never bought these Ghostbusters items over the past 15 years, you have a bit over 30 days left to get them.

Before I get into this, I want to point out that I have zero experience with the newer Xbox models, that being the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X|S. I think one or both may have backwards compatibility, but I don't know if that applies to both Ghostbusters games and/or the system picture packs, themes, and avatar items. I also don't know if the storefronts on either newer consoles can access the content that originated on the Xbox 360 store. So, this article is written solely from the perspective of someone who can only buy these items through the Xbox 360 console (and website). I believe that Microsoft will close the Xbox 360 store worldwide on July 29th, but I will only include links for the U.S. site. Please check the Xbox 360 Marketplace site, or through your console, to see if these items are available in your region and what the price is.

Let's start by looking at the Ghostbusters GAMES that can be purchased digitally. Atari's Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009) is still available for $14.99 (6.18 GB) (download manual pdf). It's not one of the steeply-discounted games from the May and June sales, but it's possible that it'll be discounted in the final July 16th sale... or maybe it'll remain at this price until the end. The only other Ghostbusters game you can buy on the Xbox 360 is the digital-only Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime (2011), which is a mere $4.99 (246.95 MB). It's a vastly different game than its predecessor, being a run-and-gun top-down shooter with a rather high difficulty on later levels. After the store closes, you will still be able to buy used copies of the first game on physical disc (refurbished), but the second game will be lost forever. (For the Xbox 360, at least, as it may still be available digitally on other systems.)

There is no DLC for the first game. Well, technically there is, but all of it was only available as store-exclusive pack-in codes. The Golden Proton Pack (Walmart), Dark Uniform from Ghostbusters II (Gamestop), Playable Ghoul Skin (Best Buy), and Playable Mayor Skin (Best Buy) were never made available for sale in the Xbox or PlayStation stores for anyone to be able to obtain after any store-exclusivity period ended. Sanctum of Slime actually received a "Challenge Pack" that is still available to buy for $1.99 (380 KB), but I don't know why anyone would want it. It doesn't add any new achievements to the game, and makes an already hard game even harder. For archival purposes, here is the official description for it: "Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime gets a whole lot more with the all new single player Challenge Pack, including Lonely Hero mode and Arcade Challenge mode. In Lonely Hero, there is no co-op, no friendly teammates, just you and waves of the paranormally possessed. Designed for seasoned gamers, Arcade Challenge gives you 3 lives and that's it; how far can you get? See how your skills line up on a distinct Global Leaderboard."

Outside of the games, there is XBOX GAMER PICTURE CONTENT for Ghostbusters. Listed under the 2009 game, but not requiring it, is the "Ghostbusters Picture Pack" for $2.99 (524 KB). This is a collection of 24 images (one is a duplicate) that you can use as your Xbox Gamer Picture. Maybe these can also be used on one of the newer Xbox consoles, so you'd better grab this pack while you can. I still use the No Ghost Logo as my personal (it doesn't also show up online for some reason) gamerpic to this very day; and the 2009 Blu-ray's PS3 theme wallpapers as my Xbox 360 system "theme" background.


The Xbox 360 console also lets you create an AVATAR, which can be used to represent "yourself" in various games. You can dress this avatar in clothes and give it little "props" (toys) to play with. Listed under Sanctum of Slime, but not requiring it, are several AVATAR CLOTHING ITEMS: Ghostbusters Jumpsuit Male (black accessories) for $1.00, Ghostbusters Jumpsuit Female (red accessories) for $1.00, and Alan Crendall's Ghostbusters Baseball Cap for $1.00. Listed under the same game are these AVATAR PROPS: Slimer for $1.99, Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man for $1.99, and the Ecto-4WD for $1.99. (Yes, Slimer appears to have a penis).


Unless they can be accessed via the newer Xbox console stores, all of these gamerpics and avatar items will disappear forever after July 29th. So, grab them while you can. It would also be wise to grab the few completely free full games that are left before they are gone forever, too. (Only a small few have been archived and are DRM-free.)


I was a late player to the Xbox 360. I bought a used console for $40 at a flea market in September 2015. I wasn't an early adopter of the PlayStation 3, either, having bought it in late 2011. Both systems have their positives and their negatives, but overall, I have enjoyed each of them. Sony, fundamentally, closed the PlayStation 3 store back in 2021. It was only a matter of time that Microsoft would do the same for the Xbox 360. From what I've read, it has been around for 18 years, so it's not like it hasn't lived a full life :-)