The makers of the horror game Alan Wake said today that they’re pulling the game from Steam and Xbox Live Monday because of a music licensing issue. Although you can keep the game if you own it, you won’t be able to buy Alan Wake again as of May 15.
Remedy, the studio behind Alan Wake, said it’s “looking into relicensing the music for Alan Wake” but doesn’t know if or when that will happen. The studio did not offer specifics but Alan Wake featured a number of licensed songs by artists like David Bowie and Depeche Mode, which likely cost a whole lot of money. Alan Wake first came out in Europe on May 14, 2010 — perhaps the developers thought a seven-year licensing deal would suffice.
On a related note, Alan Wake will be very cheap this weekend:
Alan Wake sale on @steam_games 90% discount starting 5/13. Game will be removed from stores after 5/15 due to expiring music licenses. pic.twitter.com/y10DPgY8Q0
— Remedy Entertainment (@remedygames) May 12, 2017
It’s a reminder that digital games are ephemeral. As are we all.
Comments
17 responses to “Alan Wake Is Disappearing, Perhaps Forever, From Steam And Xbox Live”
fucking seriously
This game was surprisingly awesome.
I’ve already got it but at 90% off I might have picked up a couple of copies for gifts. Shame we can’t do that any more.
I’ll just keep my money then.
Totally lame. Licensing issues ruining the preservation of media shouldn’t be happening in this day and age. It’s archaic.
It’s not archaic at all. It’s a very contemporary topic
I know if the roles were reversed and I’d written a great piece of music, i wouldwant to ensure that i could be compensated fairly for it’s use in any other media.
You’re right. If I wrote a great piece of music I’d want to get paid for it when ever anyone made money off it, but you’d think they’d figure something out by this point that allows for that. It’s very short sighted to rent the track for ten years (I assume ten because it was in development for at least three years).
And you would have been.
You made a track, you licensed it to a company that put it into a video game AND GOT PAID FOR IT.
Views like this are why out culture is being locked up in copyrights for hundreds of years.
Dude, it’s just the way it is. If you agree to license my song for 10 years, you don’t get to complain when the 10 yrs is up. That was the agreement that you signed and paid for.
The developers probably had an option to license the songs in perpetuity but they didn’t take it because it was too expensive.
It was THEIR choice to take those songs under this arrangement so if you want to be mad at someone or complain, then they are the people to direct it to. No-one else.
That’s part of the issue. Things are copyrighted for over a hundred years. If it was as originally intended, there would be no reason to just license it for 10 years. You’d license it once ever and that would be the end of it.
What about the DLC and the Arcade sequel?
The Dlc is free on Xbox live right now.
Great Game from a great developer. Has it been 7 years already?!
Ehh I’m going to have to get this on xbox even though I’m really poor atm. Can’t let it slip away and I much prefer digital to disc.
I’m presuming you can still download if you own it? If so, the “digital is ephemeral” comment is moot, as it’s (in practice, for most people) no different to a publisher no longer publishing a physical game.
If you can no longer download if you own, that does indeed suck.
Long live physical media and the preowned market
In this case I think they should just be generous and give it away then, it’s never likely to be buy-able anymore after.
Balls. This was one I was hoping to fire up if I ever got an Xbox One. Guess I’ll need to keep my 360 console.