2K classic Spec Ops: The Line has been removed from Steam

Spec Ops: The Line has been delisted from Steam without warning.

As noticed by Reddit user lurkingdanger22, the game was seemingly pulled from the store on Monday.

Players visiting the game’s Steam page are now greeted with a message saying: “Spec Ops: The Line is no longer available on the Steam store.”

"Players who have purchased the game can still download and play the game uninterrupted. 2K would like to thank our community of players who have supported the game, and we look forward to bringing you more offerings from our label throughout this year and beyond." 2/2
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) January 30, 2024

It’s not yet clear why the game has been delisted, but other Reddit users have speculated that it may be due to the use of licensed music.

The game features music from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Mogwai, Deep Purple, Alice in Chains and Björk.

It’s possible, therefore, that the licence to use one or some of these tracks has expired, leaving 2K with the decision to either delist the game or temporarily remove it while it renews the licences.

Spec Ops: The Line was released in 2012 to general critical acclaim, with a Metacritic score of 77.

In 2020, Chinese tech giant Tencent invested in Spec Ops: The Line studio Yager Development, becoming a minority shareholder in the Berlin-based studio. it then increased its stake in June 2021, acquiring a majority stake.

Yager’s most recent game was first-person shooter The Cycle: Frontier, which was released in June 2022 but shut down in June 2023, with the deactivation of its servers making it no longer playable.

Tencent’s investment in Yager was to help with its development of future titles, and it remains to be seen what the studio is working on next.