Spec Ops: The Line permanently removed from Steam and other digital stores

Recommend &quot;Why Spec Ops: The Line Mattered&quot; by Game Makers Toolkit[1] if you are unsure why this game gets the praise it does.<p>I first played it when it was a free PS+ game years ago thinking it looked like a fun, if not generic, Modern Warfare clone. Which it is, until it isn&#x27;t. I haven&#x27;t played a military shooter since.<p>1. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;tYk0BS84ItY" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;tYk0BS84ItY</a>

To preemptively prevent speculation:<p>&quot;Players who have purchased the game can still download and play the game uninterrupted.&quot;<p>It&#x27;s been removed from the store because licenses for the in-game music have expired.

Access to this game is now limited to the second hand market. This generates artificial scarcity and reduces its potential audience. Luckily Spec Ops: The Line sold physical discs and was not too bogged down with DRM so it&#x27;s still possible to obtain a license to run the game.<p>While this specific incident is tragic, we should recognize this type of loss is a common occurrence. We need to do a better job of recognizing video games as culturally relevant art that should be preserved. Preserved not only for archival -- but preserved in a way we can share with future generations. The current system of used video game markets and the occasional &#x27;museum&#x27; doesn&#x27;t work well. Emulation is the only thing making the situation bearable and it&#x27;s legal stability is questionable.<p>There&#x27;s a few improvements we can do. One simple win is to require all published games to be submitted to a central cataloging and archival agency. This way we know the art won&#x27;t be lost forever. A bigger win would be to open up alternative distribution pathways for games that are no longer published. Perhaps games not actively published should have significantly reduced copyright times. Perhaps a digital library system could exist for these games.

One thing this game does masterfully is create situations with multiple possible outcomes without telling you.<p>Spoilers below.<p>One scene has you surrounded by an angel mob of civilians. They want to kill you but you are armed to the teeth. You&#x27;ve been through some shit and your character is really over with it. I sat there not wanting to mow down 20 civilians. I really didn&#x27;t want to do it. I shot a few shots in the air, and they all started running. I felt a bit relieved, but what a powerful moment.

It&#x27;s frustrating that the fix isn&#x27;t to just remove the music files and continue selling, with the game auto falling back to some default track.

Despite all appearances, Spec Ops is a masterpiece and a really unique game, there&#x27;s nothing else like it. I wish that some preservation effort managed to make a version without expiration date.

Happens all the time on Steam (yes you can still redownload the game if you bought it)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;steam-tracker.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;steam-tracker.com&#x2F;</a>

That sucks, Spec Ops The Line is a hidden gem disguised as a generic shooter.

Sounds like this was an unusually noteworthy work, and culturally relevant.<p>Of course, the publisher, 2K, is not in the business of cultural preservation.<p>But 2K did remaster the Mafia series, for later consoles.<p>Could it possibly make business sense for 2K to remaster &quot;Spec Ops: The Line&quot; for current-gen consoles and PC (and resolve the issues with music licensing, or whatever, as part of that effort)?

Everyone keeps saying the story is great, but as someone that cares way more about gameplay than story I could not make it very far into this game. It plays basically like Operation Wolf, but in 3D. After being railroaded through a few shooting galleries I arrived at a level that was more difficult, and after failing a few times the game asked me if I wanted to switch to Easy Mode. Then I uninstalled it. Maybe the story is great, but I&#x27;d rather watch a movie or read a book for a good story.

Too bad. This game had a really surprising ethical angle that set it apart from the usual thirteen in a dozen first person military shooter.

Can we please change videogame music licensing to how the movie industry works? Nobody is going to jank away Apocalypse Now because of the Doors contract expiring.<p>I know I know videogames are just toys not art etc etc. But they make more money than anything else now.

not to shine too much light on to this, i wonder why does sony act on license agreements so much differently from steam?<p>why is a conglomorate unable to negotiate the right for existing rights owner to continue watching their media and just pull out from the store?

List it for 24 more hrs please, I want to buy it, it was on my wishlist

The reason:<p>&gt;several partnership licenses related to the game are expiring (says the publisher, 2K)<p>&gt;The licenses referenced likely have to do with the game’s music. During the The Line’s menu screen, Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” can be heard while the game’s soundtrack includes Martha and The Vandellas’ “Nowhere to Run.”