Earlier immediately, gamers observed that Spec Ops: The Line was not out there to buy on Steam, main many to concern that the acclaimed third-person shooter had been quietly delisted with out warning. Sadly, 2K has since confirmed that’s the case, and the writer has additionally defined why it pulled the landmark shooter.
Developed by Yager and launched again in 2012, Spec Ops: The Line was a reboot of the lesser-known Spec Ops franchise. Like these previous video games, The Line was a third-person navy shooter. Nevertheless, the 2012 reboot garnered important acclaim at launch because of its narrative which depicted a solider within the deserts of Dubai slowly dropping his grip on actuality, providing a meta-critical tackle the best way some navy shooters glorify the horrors of struggle. Whereas it didn’t promote as many copies as 2K would have appreciated, the sport has gone on to change into a cult favourite amongst shooter followers. And now, it’s not on Steam.
On January 29, people started to note that Spec Ops: The Line had been faraway from Steam and different storefronts, like Fanatical. Individuals questioned if 2K had delisted the sport, probably resulting from expiring licensing rights on some music featured in it. And that appears to be the case, in accordance with a 2K spokesperson.
“Spec Ops: The Line will not be out there on on-line storefronts, as a number of partnership licenses associated to the sport are expiring,” defined 2K in an announcement despatched over to Kotaku. No particular licenses have been named, however among the many noteworthy music tracks included within the sport are Jimi Hendrix’s efficiency of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Rooster” by Alice in Chains.
The writer assured gamers that homeowners of the sport will nonetheless be capable to obtain and replay Spec Ops: The Line “uninterrupted” however it’ll not be simple to purchase a digital copy shifting ahead. At present, the sport continues to be on the market on GoG, however the above assertion appears to point that can change quickly.
“2K wish to thank our neighborhood of gamers who’ve supported the sport, and we stay up for bringing you extra choices from our label all through this yr and past,” stated 2K in its assertion.
Whereas there had been talks of a sequel for years, it appears 2K isn’t even keen to tease that and as an alternative is simply letting Spec Ops: The Line fade away like a mirage within the desert. It’s only one extra sport—on an ever-growing listing—that might be tougher to play because the years go by.
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