Quantum Break has been removed from Steam and Game Pass, but it’s alright
Expiring licenses have claimed another victim, but Remedy says it’ll be back—on Game Pass, at least.
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Quantum Break, Remedy Entertainment’s time-bending shooter about an experiment gone horribly wrong, is no longer available for purchase onSteam—but don’t fret too much if you were just now heading to the site to buy it, because it’ll probably be back soon.
The game also recently disappeared from Xbox Game Pass, a removal Remedy attributed to expiring licenses. More importantly, the studio said it’ll be back once that situation is sorted.
A Microsoft representative said that licensing situation also applies to the Steam version of the game, which is why it was removed from sale—and so, it should be back there soon enough, too.
It sucks, but removing games with licensed content after the license expires is something that happens quite often. Music is probably the most common licensed content that ends up causing trouble—that’s why Quantum Break’s predecessorAlan Wakewas removed from Steam in 2017—but just anything can do it. In 2022, for instance,Project Cars and Project Cars 2were both removed from sale because of expiring car and track licenses.
In some cases, it’s possible to simply remove the offending content and carry on, as Rockstar did withGrand Theft Auto 4. But when the content in question is central to the game experience, as was the case with Project Cars, publishers have to decide whether it’s worth the hassle and expense to renegotiate the license deals. On older games that aren’t really selling anymore, the answer is often “no.”
(If you’re curious, here are 15 otherreasons that games disappear from Steam. Some of them are pretty weird.)
Fortunately for Remedy fans, publisher Microsoft answered “yes” to the question of Alan Wake, andbrought it backon sale in 2018. It’s also confirmed to be doing the same for Quantum Break—for Game Pass, at least. I’ve reached out to confirm whether that’s the case for the Steam version as well, and will update if I receive a reply.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill.Lotsof Henry Cavill.
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