The 2012 game Spec Ops: The Line has been delisted from Steam and other storefronts, and no one is sure why.
It’s not every day that a game comes along and does something different. While many come out and are great, they generally operate within an expected framework.
That’s why when a title comes along and does something to shake up the landscape and do something unexpected, it can make a huge impact. Even if it’s not the most technically sophisticated game in the world, it’ll still get a lot of attention and be remembered for years to come.
That’s the exact impact Spec Ops: The Line occupied. The Yager game is fondly remembered as a subversive title that still has some amazing narrative aspects that still resonate today. In a time filled with lots of jingoistic war games like Call of Duty and Battlefield, it poked and prodded the glorification of war and the actions of the player in fascinating ways for the time.
However, the preservation of the game is under threat as the title is currently disappearing from online stores and no one – not even the game’s director – knows why for sure.
Could Spec Ops: The Line become inaccessible in the future?
As first reported by Wario 64 on X, the game was delisted from Steam yesterday, leading many to wonder if this was an error. While players will still be able to download and install the game if they own it, they no longer will be able to buy it.
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However, as things have developed, it seems this is a wider issue as also reported by Wario64, it’s disappearing from other storefronts like Fanatical, Gamesplanet, and Nuuvem.
Even Spec Ops: The Line director Cory Davis seems to be in the dark. In a tweet, Davis said the game’s delisting “Makes no sense” and asked for a response from 2K and Steam.
Makes no sense – especially because the themes portrayed in @SpecOpsTheLine are more relevant now than ever. Why has this happened @2k @Steam ? https://t.co/BnHnxzQRPp
— Cory Davis (@Snak3Fist) January 30, 2024
It’s not certain why the game is being pulled from storefronts, but our best guess is that this is tied to licensed music, which is used prominently towards the end of the game – even coming into the evolving main menu. However, this hasn’t been confirmed by any official source yet.
Obviously, the big issue here is preservation. With a title as unique and interesting as this, it would be an enormous shame for the game to stop being playable in the future. Here’s hoping some sort of solution can be figured out to keep this classic accessible.