Games Removed From Steam

For PC gamers, Steam is a near-perfect catalog of old and new games. Developed by Valve, the service offers the digital sales of thousands of titles, ranging from the biggest AAA games to the smallest indies. Despite its convenience, however, Steam doesn't offer every video game in existence. Not only are some titles never released on the service, but certain games are removed from Steam for one reason or another.

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By  Mark Sammut

Oftentimes a popular game will be removed to be replaced by an updated version of that same game. For example, the individual games in the Grand Theft Auto 3D trilogy (Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) have all been removed from the platform, though are currently available in the recently-released Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy. Though this may be the case for quite a few games, several games were removed for other reasons. Unfortunately, there's very little chance these titles will ever see the light of day on Steam again.

Updated December 1, 2024 by Mark Sammut: While they might not always make headlines, games are delisted from Steam fairly frequently. For example, in May 2024, Bandai Namco removed three Tales RPGs from the store. This news is nearly always frustrating, but it is, unfortunately, a fairly common part of the game industry. Two more delisted Steam games have been added, and they went down that road for wildly different reasons.

15 Spec Ops: The Line

The Licensing Curse

In early 2024, Spec Ops: The Line was removed without warning from Steam (and other storefronts), garnering a pretty vocal reaction since the thought-provoking game has a well-earned positive reputation. As tends to be the case with so many projects that end up delisted, Spec Ops: The Line's removal ultimately came down to expired licenses.

Released in 2012, the third-person shooter casts players as a soldier thrown into a high-stress situation that challenges them ethically and morally. Although fairly short and not featuring especially satisfying gameplay, Spec Ops: The Line is completely carried by its story and themes, both of which have proven to be quite timeless.

14 Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition

Removed To Make Room For The Remaster

While not a hard rule, publishers tend to delist games on Steam when a remaster is expected to drop. For example, in 2024, Beyond Good & Evil HD was removed from the store to make room for the 20th anniversary edition. Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition was delisted as it is part of the Devil May Cry HD Collection. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition suffered a similar fate when the remaster launched in 2018, leading to the former no longer being available on Steam.

Dark Souls led a "charmed" PC life. The Prepare to Die Edition had a notoriously underwhelming debut, launching with a myriad of issues that were largely solved by fan patches. While the remaster is certainly better than its predecessor's vanilla version, an argument could be made that it is not superior to the modded Prepare to Die Edition, so this delisting was met with some pushback.

13 Prey (2006)

No More Keys

Protagonist Tommy from Prey (2006)

Before the Arkane Studios reimagining of the property, the original Prey from 2006 proved to be a success when it was first released. The sci-fi/action game received rave reviews from critics, and its popularity garnered a mobile game and a reboot. While Prey can still be purchased from other sources, it's currently unavailable through Steam.

The reason for Prey's removal is odd, to say the least. During a Steam sale, the game reportedly sold out, despite the fact that Steam deals exclusively with digital sales, not physical ones. Supposedly, each digital copy was tied to a CD-ROM key, and Steam ran out of these keys during the sale. With no more possible combinations, it seems like it was easier to just remove the game altogether.

12 Fable 3

Games for Windows Live's Discontinuation

The first game in the beloved Fable series can be found on Steam with the Fable Anniversary remaster. Though the acclaimed Fable 2 never saw a PC release, the third installment in the franchise did. Once upon a time, fans could purchase Fable 3 for their Steam library. Unfortunately, it seems as though these days are long gone.

Similar to Prey, product keys for Fable 3 are no longer being created. This coincided with the closing of the Games for Windows – Live marketplace in 2013 and is likely the reason product keys for Fable 3 are no longer made. Like its predecessor, Fable 3 can still be played on the Xbox 360. If the upcoming fourth installment sees a Steam release, it will hopefully have better luck on the service.

11 Quantum Of Solace

James Bond License

James Bond from the video game Quantum of Solace

James Bond fans looking to become 007 will have to wait for the upcoming IO Interactive game since none are available on Steam any longer. Beginning in 2006, developers Activision produced several James Bond video games, all released on Steam as well as other platforms. While Blood Stone and 007 Legends had mixed reception, the video game tie-in to the 2008 film was welcomed far more positively. That being said, Quantum of Solace, along with Activision's other Bond games, have since been removed from Steam.

In early 2013, all three games were taken off the Steam store. Three days later, Activision stated that the James Bond license had unfortunately expired and that the developer would be moving away from licensed games in the future. This is especially disappointing as there hasn't been a new Bond game since. Quantum of Solace, along with Blood Stone and 007 Legends are still available on past-generation consoles.

10 Wolfenstein (2009)

Could Be Due To Wolfenstein No Longer Being Under Activision

The last game in the popular Wolfenstein series before its MachineGames reboot, the 2009 entry was released as the sequel to Return to Castle Wolfenstein in 2001. Despite generally positive critical reception and a commercially successful predecessor, Wolfenstein failed to repeat that commercial success eight years later. Poor sales, however, are probably not the reason the game can't be downloaded from Steam anymore since that would result in plenty of projects being removed from the service.

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An official reason has not been provided for why the game was removed from Steam, although there are a few theories. Since Nazis are ever-present throughout the Wolfenstein franchise, a swastika or two might show up during any given playthrough. Understandably, swastikas and related Nazi iconography are banned from any video games released in Germany. Activision had done their best to see that the German release of Wolfenstein was swastika-free, but a few had slipped under the radar. While this resulted in the removal from German stores, the game seemed to remain on Steam for a few years longer, only to be removed around the time Wolfenstein no longer remained under Activision's publishing rights.

9 Deadpool

Marvel License

Deadpool from the Deadpool video game

The Deadpool game has been around the removal block several times. The 2013 adaptation of the popular Marvel comics has players taking control of the fourth-wall-breaking mercenary and features everything that fans love about the character. Fans have been disappointed that not only has the game been removed from all digital markets, but has been removed from Steam twice.

In 2014, Deadpool along with other Marvel titles such as X-Men: Destiny and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions were removed from digital storefronts because of an expired licensing contract between Marvel and publishers Activision. One year later, however, the game was made available again to coincide with the release of the 2016 film. Then two years after its re-release, the game was once again pulled from Steam due to licensing issues. The removal also applies to digital copies on Xbox and PlayStation as well.

8 DiRT (Various Entries)

Licensing Agreements (Most Likely)

Screenshot of race from DiRT (2007)

While many other installments in the racing video game franchise DiRT are still available on Steam, the 2007 entry, along with a few others, are left out of the store. The 2007 game is noteworthy in particular for being released just one day before franchise header Colin McRae passed away in a tragic helicopter accident. Out of respect, McRae's name was removed from the titles of past re-releases, as well as unused in future installments.

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Like many other games, licensing issues are to blame for the removal of DiRT. Many of the licenses of the cars players can drive in the game have since expired, resulting in this game, along with DiRT 2-4 no longer being available for purchase through Steam. All the games are still available on past-gen consoles.

7 Rocket League

Changed To Free-To-Play

Rocket League promotional screenshot

The insanely popular car-soccer game may not be available through Steam, though that hardly means Rocket League is no longer playable. The surprising critical and commercial success of a video game about cars playing soccer drew a large player base and has since become an official esports game.

While the game is no longer on Steam, the reason is quite simple. Rocket League was initially released on all platforms; requiring payment, even physical copies were distributed and sold. In 2020, however, that all changed when developers Psyonix made the decision to make the game free-to-play. Since Rocket League no longer requires a paid purchase in order to be played, it has since been removed from Steam's library.

6 Battlefield 2

Closure Of Multiplayer Servers

The most acclaimed title from DICE's popular Battlefield franchise is also one of the few that can't be found on Steam. Released in 2005, Battlefield 2 was the first game in the franchise to take place in the modern era, a full two years before Call of Duty took that same route. To this day, it's the most positively-reviewed game in the series, being the only entry to score above a 90 on Metacritic.

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Battlefield 2's time on the Steam store came to an end along with GameSpy, which had until that point powered the multiplayer for the game. Due to the closure of GameSpy, EA's online services shut down on June 30, 2014, almost nine years after the game's initial release. While Battlefield 2 can no longer be downloaded, physical copies can still be purchased.