GOG has stopped selling the Descent games, thanks to ownership disputes. Based on the circumstances, it could get pulled from Steam too. Don’t rush to buy it yet though.
In an open letter on the GOG forums itself, Parallax Software explained that distributor Interplay has yet to pay them for sales of the games on GOG and Steam since 2007. Parallax made the first two games, and still owns some rights to them, although Interplay owns the trademarks. It’s not so much that GOG is getting singled out, but they took action on Parallax’s behalf first by pulling the games for sale.
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As for the moment, Interplay continues to sell the Descent games on Steam, and has in fact licensed a new game, Descent Underground. Stunningly, Descent Underground is currently on Steam Early Access.
The chances that the Descent games can be sold again in the future is wholly dependent on whether the two companies can iron out a deal. You can read the full statement from Parallax Software below.
Hey, Folks. Here's the story.
Parallax Software still exists and still owns the copyrights to the Descent games. Under our 21-year-old agreement, Interplay has the exclusive rights to sell Descent and Descent II, and they have been doing so on Good Old Games and Steam.
The problem is that Interplay has not paid to Parallax any royalties since 2007. We've talked to them about this numerous times over the years, and finally took action this fall. We served Interplay official notice that they were in breach of the contract, and when they still failed to pay we terminated the agreement.
This means that Interplay has lost the right to sell the Descent games, which is why they came down from GOG. (We're not sure why they're still on Steam; they shouldn't be.)
Interplay does, however, still own the Descent trademark, which they are free to use or license as they see fit (such as for Descent: Underground) as long as they don't violate our copyrights.
As for whether Descent and Descent II will be available for purchase again, we hope so. We'd be very happy to work things out with Interplay.
Matt Toschlog & Mike Kulas
Parallax Software
