Spec Ops: The Line has been delisted from Steam.
Update: Take-Two via a 2K spokesperson has corroborated with PC Gamer that the game is being removed from all online stores because of expiring licenses. They shared this statement:
“Spec Ops: The Line will no longer be available on online storefronts, as several partnership licenses related to the game are expiring.”
“Players who have purchased the game can still download and play the game uninterrupted. 2K would like to thank our community of players who have supported the game, and we look forward to bringing you more offerings from our label throughout this year and beyond.”
They also clarified that some stores will lose their listing for the game earlier than others because of differences in their delisting processes.
The original article follows below.
As shared on reddit by user Turbostrider27, the Steam page has this message:
Notice: Spec Ops: The Line is no longer available on the Steam store.
This writer can confirm that if you owned the game on Steam in the past, it is still in your library, but you will also see this message on its web page. We can also confirm that the game is still available in GOG, and is currently for sale at 80 % off. It is likely that versions of the game are still live on PlayStation Store (on the PS3 store only) and on Xbox Store.
Originally released in 2012, Spec Ops: The Line holds a truly unique position in the genre of military shooters. The Spec Ops franchise itself consisted of an older set of military shooters, that were not particularly successful or noteworthy for the industry. Take-Two Interactive held onto the rights through the years because the prospect of making a Call of Duty competitor, even a smaller game riding on its coattails, remained perennially lucrative.
When Yager pitched a futuristic shooter to Take-Two, Take-Two rejected the offer in favor of making a Spec Ops reboot, with creative control. While much of that control would be taken back, Yager came up with the brilliant idea of making a shooter that forced players to make ugly ethical choices, and then force them to think about the consequences afterwards.
So, Spec Ops: The Line was a commercial failure, and it is simultaneously one of the most critically acclaimed and influential shooters of all time. It prompted more successful shooters like Call of Duty and Far Cry, as well as other games, to explore deconstruction and post-modernist themes. It led to the publication of at least two books; Significant Zero, by the game’s co-writer, Walt Williams, and Killing Is Harmless, a textual analysis of the game, by Brendan Keogh.
The game’s strange place in the industry is such that there is discourse if the game’s inferior gameplay mechanics are itself part of Yager’s efforts to satirize the military shooter genre and engage the player in its meta-narrative. For the record, Walt Williams and Yager staffers have stated they intended the game to play well.
Some fans speculate that the game could be removed from GOG next. The potential reason for its delisting are the licensing of the music, or the potential that it is getting a remake.
While fans would be excited at the prospect of a remake, that seems highly unlikely. Yager revealed that Take-Two did not mention the possibility of sequels after the reboot, and the subject seemed dropped after its low sales. Yager most recently release was The Cycle: Frontier, and it is now majority owned by Tencent.
The music licensed for the game is potentially expensive, including Jimi Hendrix’s The Star-Spangled Banner, which blares on the title screen. If this is the case, then it is unlikely that the game will resurface ever again after it is delisted.
