Following Quantum Break’s removal from the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, the game is now also no longer available to purchase period.
A quick check on the storefronts show that the store pages for Quantum Break still exist, on both Steam and Xbox Store. However, both listings also indicate that the game can no longer be purchased.
The Steam listing comes with the heading:
“Notice: Quantum Break is no longer available on the Steam store.”
In the meantime, the Xbox Store page says this:
“Not available separately.”
While the wording on the Xbox Store page is obtuse, the page no longer offers a way for you to purchase the game.
This comes a few days after Quantum Break was announced to be leaving the Xbox Game Pass service. We already know from the game studio who made the game, Remedy Entertainment, that the reason that the game was being pulled from Game Pass was because certain licenses had expired. Remedy also pledged that they would put the game back on Game Pass as soon as the issue with the licenses had been resolved.
However, neither Remedy nor Microsoft explained to customers that the game itself would be getting pulled from online stores completely.
Make no mistake, Remedy and Microsoft definitely knew that Quantum Break would get pulled from stores. At the very least, they had an idea that it could happen before they could resolve the licensing issues.
This delisting may be a legal requirement that Steam and Microsoft have to follow in the process of renewing the licenses. However, they should have definitely warned their players beforehand. Particularly, people who may have just bought the game didn’t know they would have to download it on their platform of choice to keep playing.
As reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, music licenses are the most likely culprit for the game’s sudden removal from retail. Some famous artists whose songs appear in Quantum Break include Paramore, Toto, and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Remedy’s other game, Alan Wake, had a similar issue because Remedy decided to use licensed songs as well. It took a year for Alan Wake to be brought back.
It certainly looks more and more like this was a situation where Remedy and Microsoft were caught unaware. Perhaps one of those licenses dropped out sooner than expected. Given that Microsoft owns Quantum Break, they will most definitely work to get the game back on stores as soon as they can.
