For PC gamers,Steamis a near-perfect catalog of old and new games. Developed by Valve, the service offers the digital sales of thousands of titles, ranging from the biggest AAA games to the smallest indies. Despite its convenience, however,Steamdoesn’t offer every video game in existence. Not only are some titles never released on the service, but certaingames are removed from Steamfor one reason or another.
Oftentimes a popular game will be removed to be replaced by an updated version of that same game. For example, the individual games in theGrand Theft Auto3D trilogy (Grand Theft Auto 3,Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, andGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas) have all been removed from the platform, though arecurrently available in the recently-releasedGrand Theft Auto: The Trilogy. Though this may be the case for quite a few games, several games were removed for other reasons. Unfortunately, there’s very little chance these titles will ever see the light of day on Steam again.
Updated June 19, 2025 by Mark Sammut:While they might not always make headlines, games are delisted from Steam fairly frequently. For example, in May 2024,Bandai Namco removed three Tales RPGs from the store. This news is nearly always frustrating, but it is, unfortunately, a fairly common part of the game industry. Two moredelisted Steam gameshave been added, and they went down that road for wildly different reasons.
In some of these cases, an official reason for the removal was not provided; consequently, an informed guess will be presented.
In early 2024,Spec Ops: The Linewas removed without warning from Steam(and other storefronts), garnering a pretty vocal reaction since the thought-provoking game has a well-earned positive reputation. As tends to be the case with so many projects that end up delisted,Spec Ops: The Line’s removal ultimately came down to expired licenses.
Released in 2012, the third-person shooter casts players as a soldier thrown into a high-stress situation that challenges them ethically and morally. Although fairly short and not featuring especially satisfying gameplay,Spec Ops: The Lineis completely carried by its story and themes, both of which have proven to be quite timeless.
While not a hard rule, publishers tend todelist games on Steamwhen a remaster is expected to drop. For example, in 2024,Beyond Good & Evil HDwas removed from the storeto make room for the 20th anniversary edition.Devil May Cry 3: Special Editionwas delisted as it is part of theDevil May Cry HD Collection.Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Editionsuffered a similar fate when the remaster launched in 2018, leading to the former no longer being available on Steam.
Dark Soulsled a “charmed” PC life. ThePrepare to Die Editionhad a notoriously underwhelming debut, launching with a myriad of issues that were largely solved by fan patches. While the remaster is certainly better than its predecessor’s vanilla version, an argument could be made that it is not superior to the moddedPrepare to Die Edition, so this delisting was met with some pushback.
Before the Arkane Studios reimagining of the property, the originalPreyfrom 2006 proved to be a success when it was first released. The sci-fi/action game received rave reviews from critics, and its popularity garnered a mobile game and a reboot. WhilePreycan still be purchased from other sources, it’s currently unavailable through Steam.
The reason forPrey’s removal is odd, to say the least. During a Steam sale, the game reportedly sold out, despite the fact that Steam deals exclusively with digital sales, not physical ones. Supposedly,each digital copy was tied to a CD-ROM key, andSteam ran out of these keys during the sale. With no more possible combinations, it seems like it was easier to just remove the game altogether.
The first game in the belovedFableseries can be found on Steam with theFable Anniversaryremaster. Though the acclaimedFable 2never saw a PC release, the third installment in the franchise did. Once upon a time, fans could purchaseFable 3for their Steam library. Unfortunately, it seems as though these days are long gone.
Similar toPrey,product keys forFable 3are no longer being created. This coincided with the closing of the Games for Windows – Live marketplace in 2013 and is likely the reason product keys forFable 3are no longer made. Like its predecessor,Fable 3can still be played on the Xbox 360. Ifthe upcoming fourth installmentsees a Steam release, it will hopefully have better luck on the service.
James Bond fans looking to become 007 will have towait for the upcoming IO Interactive gamesince none are available on Steam any longer. Beginning in 2006, developers Activision produced several James Bond video games, all released on Steam as well as other platforms. WhileBlood Stoneand007 Legendshad mixed reception, the video game tie-in to the 2008 film was welcomed far more positively. That being said,Quantum of Solace, along with Activision’s other Bond games, have since been removed from Steam.
In early 2013, all three games were taken off the Steam store. Three days later,Activision stated that the James Bond licensehad unfortunately expired and that the developer would be moving away from licensed games in the future. This is especially disappointing as there hasn’t been a new Bond game since.Quantum of Solace, along withBlood Stoneand007 Legendsare still available on past-generation consoles.
The last game in the popularWolfensteinseries before its MachineGames reboot, the 2009 entry was released as the sequel toReturn to Castle Wolfensteinin 2001. Despite generally positive critical reception and a commercially successful predecessor,Wolfensteinfailed to repeat that commercial success eight years later. Poor sales, however, are probably not the reason the game can’t be downloaded from Steam anymore since that would result in plenty of projects being removed from the service.
An official reason has not been provided for why the game was removed from Steam, although there are a few theories. Since Nazis are ever-present throughout theWolfensteinfranchise, a swastika or two might show up during any given playthrough. Understandably,swastikas and related Nazi iconography are banned from any video games released in Germany. Activision had done their best to see that the German release ofWolfensteinwas swastika-free, but a few had slipped under the radar. While this resulted in the removal from German stores, the game seemed to remain on Steam for a few years longer, only to be removed around the timeWolfensteinno longer remained under Activision’s publishing rights.
TheDeadpoolgame has been around the removal block several times. The 2013adaptation of the popular Marvel comicshas players taking control of the fourth-wall-breaking mercenary and features everything that fans love about the character. Fans have been disappointed that not only has the game been removed from all digital markets, but has been removed from Steam twice.
In 2014,Deadpoolalong with other Marvel titles such asX-Men: DestinyandSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensionswere removed from digital storefronts because of an expired licensing contract between Marvel and publishers Activision. One year later, however, the game was made available again to coincide with the release of the 2016 film. Then two years after its re-release,the game was once again pulled from Steam due to licensing issues. The removal also applies to digital copies on Xbox and PlayStation as well.
While many other installments in the racing video game franchiseDiRTare still available on Steam, the 2007 entry, along with a few others, are left out of the store. The 2007 game is noteworthy in particular for being released just one day before franchise header Colin McRae passed away in a tragic helicopter accident. Out of respect, McRae’s name was removed from the titles of past re-releases, as well as unused in future installments.
Like many other games, licensing issues are to blame for the removal ofDiRT.Many of the licenses of the cars players can drive in the game have since expired, resulting in this game, along withDiRT 2-4 no longer being available for purchase through Steam. All the games are still available on past-gen consoles.
The insanely popular car-soccer game may not be available through Steam, though that hardly meansRocket Leagueis no longer playable. The surprising critical and commercial success of a video game about cars playing soccer drew a large player base and has since become an official esports game.
While the game is no longer on Steam, the reason is quite simple.Rocket Leaguewas initially released on all platforms; requiring payment, even physical copies were distributed and sold. In 2020, however, that all changed when developers Psyonix made the decisionto make the game free-to-play. SinceRocket Leagueno longer requires a paid purchase in order to be played,it has since been removed from Steam’s library.
The most acclaimed title from DICE’s popularBattlefieldfranchise is also one of the few that can’t be found on Steam. Released in 2005,Battlefield 2was the first game in the franchise to take place in the modern era, a full two years beforeCall of Dutytook that same route. To this day, it’s the most positively-reviewed game in the series, being the only entry to score above a 90 on Metacritic.
Battlefield 2’s time on the Steam store came to an end along with GameSpy, which had until that point powered the multiplayer for the game. Due to the closure of GameSpy,EA’s online services shut down on June 09, 2025, almost nine years after the game’s initial release. WhileBattlefield 2can no longer be downloaded, physical copies can still be purchased.
