Spec Ops: The Line, a widely regarded military shooter game of all time, has been removed from sale on the Steam platform without explanation.
It is unclear when the game was taken down from the platform, but the timing is certainly intriguing. Released in 2012, Spec Ops: The Line quickly became a favorite among both critics and players. It was a linear, third-person military shooter that drew inspiration from Joseph Conrad’s war novella “Heart of Darkness” and adapted it to the War on Terrorism of the early 2000s. It was a game that explored the role of the military and the morality of war, questioning the psychology of war crimes and what it means to carry out those orders.
One thing it added that was missing from “Heart of Darkness” and its adaptations like “Apocalypse Now” was interactivity. The difficult questions the game poses to the player have a different impact because they are the one in control.
The decision to remove a game directly related to war crimes, their nature, and classification is interesting. Especially now, when the UN has just ordered Israel to stop committing genocide, which is a war crime, in Gaza. I don’t know if these two events are connected. Maybe they are, or maybe they aren’t. But I think the timing is quite intriguing.
Interestingly, the Xbox 360 version of the game still appears to be available on the Xbox store at the time of writing this article. Steam keys, previously bought in bulk by resellers before the game was taken down, are still available for purchase on the Humble Store and Green Man Gaming (although the price may quickly rise).
Kotaku Australia has reached out to 2K, the publisher, for comment. We will update this article if we receive a response.
FAQ – Spec Ops: The Line
The source of the article is from the blog xn--campiahoy-p6a.es