The popular third-person military shooter, Spec Ops: The Line, has been removed from sale on platforms like Steam and other digital platforms, and no one knows why – not even the game’s designer and director. Spec Ops: The Line was released in 2012 and didn’t sell particularly well. It was another third-person military shooter released alongside titles like Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops 2. It’s a tough market for any game, but we still talk about it today because of the story it tells. It’s a dark journey that ruthlessly confronts us with the nightmares of war and the trauma experienced by both soldiers and civilians. The game includes moments that make the famous No Russian level from Modern Warfare 2 seem almost insignificant.
The game didn’t fully achieve its intentions, mainly due to the linearity of the story, which eliminates some crucial player choice moments. Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly a game worth your attention. We still talk about it to this day. Unfortunately, playing Spec Ops: The Line now will be more difficult because it’s no longer available on the Steam platform. It has also been removed from other stores like Fanatical and Gamesplanet. However, in a strange way, you can still purchase it on platforms like GOG and Humble, as well as on the Xbox console.
For now, the publisher 2K Games has not issued any statements explaining the reason for removing Spec Ops: The Line from sale. According to speculations, the game’s soundtrack might be to blame. The game contains a lot of licensed music from artists like Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Martha and the Vandellas, and Björk. Jimi Hendrix’s famous rendition of the United States National Anthem can be heard in the background of Spec Ops: The Line’s menu. Removing games from sale due to expiring licenses is not uncommon. The most common reason is music, but various licensed content like cars, archival materials, or a dark vision of the future can lead to sales being halted after some time. In such situations, publishers have the choice to renew the license, remove copyright-infringing content, or simply cease sales entirely. In the case of an old game like Spec Ops that wasn’t a huge hit, the chances of license renewal may be slim.
However, there is hope that the removal of the game could signal an upcoming remaster of Spec Ops: The Line. That would be very exciting, especially because Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of 2K Games, recently signed an agreement with Remedy to rebuild similarly cult but not sufficiently popular games like Max Payne. However, the designer and director of Spec Ops, Cory Davis, doesn’t seem to know about this.
“It doesn’t make sense – especially now when the themes explored in Spec Ops: The Line are more relevant than ever,” Davis wrote on Twitter. “Why did this happen?” That is now the biggest question. I expect answers from 2K and will update the article if I receive a response.
FAQ Section
The source of the article is from the blog rugbynews.at