#4 Codemasters Dirt 3
Codemasters took down a few video game titles on Steam back in 2017 and it was rather unexpected. The internet took to investigating why but it wasn’t really clear as to why titles like Grid and Dirt 3 were removed. These are racing video game titles with real cars and its speculated that the licensing ran out meaning those games couldn’t simply be sold on the digital storefront. While it’s possible for these games to come back like Dirt 3, it’s unfortunate to those who didn’t get a chance to purchase it in time. Luckily for those who did purchase the game, you can still download and enjoy it.
#3 Explicit Sexual Content
Needless to say, there are some video game titles that just don’t make it on Steam. Titles with heavy sexual explicit content are not sold on the storefront. For instance, there was a title known as Rape Day, a game about sexually assaulting women and it was quickly a controversial topic for publications all over. As a result, Valve made the statement that games much like Rape Day would not be presented on the Steam storefront. Normally these games don’t make it on the Steam storefront, to begin with, but the few that get past the restrictions usually get taken down shortly after.
#2 Ride To Hell: Retribution
Ride To Hell: Retribution was developed by Eutechnyx and was suppose to be an action-adventure video game title filled with motorcycle driving and combat. Yeah, this game wasn’t winning any rewards and it was even canceled at one point early into its development. However, it 2013 it popped back up and released on Steam. Once released it was considered one of the worst video games of all time. The sales were poor, critics gave it terrible reviews and it wasn’t anything which would have likely got the attention of gamers anyways. It’s likely Steam removed it from the poor reviews and speculated that it didn’t meet the standards Valve has placed on the storefront.
#1 Deadpool
Before the cinematic film Deadpool released in theaters there was a video game adaptation of the Marvel character in 2013. It had the same style and wackiness we’ve come to know from the character and it had favorable reviews. This was a hack-and-slash style game and while it wasn’t winning any rewards, the game still offered an enjoyable experience according to most everyone who picked a copy up. However, the reason Deadpool was removed from Steam was due to the contract between Marvel and Activision expired. In fact, this contract expiration didn’t just hurt Deadpool but it also required the removal of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and X-Men: Destiny.
Honorable Mention
Grand Theft Auto 4
The Grand Theft Auto series is well-known and much-beloved. Still, after years of being available on the Steam platform, the game did make a sudden disappearance. Those that wanted to pick the game up found that the title had vanished and after a period of time we found out just why. Rockstar Games had confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 4 was removed due to the game’s connection with Games for Windows Live, a platform that Microsoft had since stopped supporting. If you already owned the game, players could still enjoy it without any issue, however, it was simply no longer available to be purchased for new customers. That didn’t last too long as the game did get released once again on Steam but with a few changes.
Grand Theft Auto 4 returned once again on the Steam platform but it was missing radio stations which is likely due to various deals expiring. While that may have been a slightly minor change to the game, one significant change may have resulted in an influx of players on Grand Theft Auto 5 and that was the removal of multiplayer. While most gamers had already transitioned to the Grand Theft Online component of GTA 5, there was still a following for Grand Theft Auto 4 Online up until that point.
