SEGA removes Alpha Protocol from sale on digital storefronts (UPDATE: It's back on GOG)

I was going to bump one of the older threads, but they looked all toxic as hell, mostly stemming from one user who had a hate boner for this game.

SEGA stated that Alpha Protocol was removed from sale on Steam and other digital storefronts due to an "expiry of publishing rights." No further information was given, though people speculate it is due to the use of licensed music as is usually the death knell for other games in the digital age.

Publishers and developers need to warn people when this is going to happen as was done with Alan Wake. I think a stealth removal such as this is both disrespectful to the industry as a whole and its customers.

https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/sega-removes-obsidian-s-spy-rpg-alpha-protocol-from-sale

Or a lawyer contacted them and SEGA scrambled. Sort of how we get things done here.

How is it disrespectful? When this is happens it is common for people who already bought the game to still have access to it. Just no one new is able to buy it. Still this is the all digital download days you people wanted. I can't wait til some day steams goes offline for what ever reason and people lose everything. The internet would go nuclear over it.

Before you get your panties in a twist, realize that removal from a digital store tends to mean they can no longer sell new copies (or accept new codes) typically due to some licensing issue. This isn't the end of the world, because for those who already own the product, their license is still good. So it's all good for those who already have the product, and not so much for those who missed the boat.

Typically, these things get resolved over time. The developer/artists renegotiate and a price is settled. In any event, the only one getting 'screwed' is usually the publisher because of the loss of new sales.

That's a shame it's one of my favorite games. It has some issues for sure but it's good enough that I'm willing to look past it's warts, the way that your decisions and the order in which you complete things changes the story is the best I've seen in a game.

Though while it's a shame and it would have been nice for the publisher to give some warning it's really no different than in the old days when as publisher would just stop printing new copies at some point.

This isn’t music licensing. It sounds like Sega’s publishing license ended. That means the rights should revert to Obsidian. If that is the case the game could be relisted at some point down the road.

It could end up like the original Prey. Steam ran out of cd keys during a sale so they just stopped selling it. I think some people even bought it but couldn't play it and had to be refunded.

sharknice said:

It could end up like the original Prey. Steam ran out of cd keys during a sale so they just stopped selling it. I think some people even bought it but couldn't play it and had to be refunded.

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There is a notice on the Steam store page for the game that says this: "At the request of the publisher, Alpha Protocol™ is no longer available for sale on Steam."

If the publishing rights are just changing hands then I agree that it will most likely be back shortly but if it's a licensing issue I'm not so sure. Most games that have been pulled in the past due to licensing issues and then came back had more recent sequels keeping the IP more relevant, the only exception I can recall is the Vampire Bloodlines game that now has a sequel coming out and it might have already been in the works when it was brought back.

Tech Raptor is reporting that the music rights expiring is the reason for its removal based on a statement received from SEGA.

https://techraptor.net/content/alph...storefronts-as-segas-publishing-rights-expire

Alpha Protocol is back in all its glory on GOG, including the licensed soundtrack. They also state compatibility with modern systems, though I've never had any issue running it on Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 (have not tried 11).

https://www.gog.com/game/alpha_protocol

If you bought the disc from way back it was already DRM-Free if you have the 1.1 patch (which is just a drop in .exe file IIRC). So unless you just want an official digital copy of it you don't really need to buy it again. Though the $17.99 price on GoG seems a bit high. IIRC I bought my disc version from the bargain bin of some now out of business retailer with a buy 3 or 4 for like $10-$15 sale.

LurkerLito said:

If you bought the disc from way back it was already DRM-Free if you have the 1.1 patch (which is just a drop in .exe file IIRC). So unless you just want an official digital copy of it you don't really need to buy it again. Though the $17.99 price on GoG seems a bit high. IIRC I bought my disc version from the bargain bin of some now out of business retailer with a buy 3 or 4 for like $10-$15 sale.

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I got it off the Internet Archive after it was delisted, no DRM and works fine. And yeah that price is a little too high.

Good video on Alpha Protocol, the circumstances behind why it got pulled and what it took to bring it back - including interviews with some of the GOG team:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBXbrofwKwM

I'm a firm believer that game preservation is becoming increasingly important regardless of one's thoughts on any particular game. It's incredibly easy for publishers to let agreements expire (such as in the case of the licensed songs), resulting in games having to be delisted, and the process of getting them relisted can take years if it happens at all.

Seems like this was as low as $2 on Steam at one point so I agree the price on GOG seems high but better than it not being available anywhere at all, plus it's not like they simply created a web page and listed it, they had 18 months of legal expenses and reworked the game for modern systems (the video talks about something they fixed that was preventing many people from playing the game).