‘Pandemic’ mysteriously disappears

Steam users have noticed that the digital board game version of ‘Pandemic’ had been pulled from the store without any explanation from the publisher. The game was also taken down from Google and Apple app stores.

The ‘Pandemic’ board game was delisted from Steam on January 6, with the game’s store page saying it was removed “at the request of the publisher.” The game still seems to be playable for Steam and mobile users who already bought it, however, new players cannot obtain the game.

The move has come without any warning or statement from Asmodee, the game’s publisher, and players are now left scratching their heads as to the reason the game was pulled. One reddit user asked the company directly and received this response.

“First of all, we want to thank you and all the Pandemic players for your loyalty and support over time. Unfortunately, we are taking the Pandemic app off the stores. We have worked hard over 4 years on Pandemic and withdrawing it from the stores has not been an easy choice. This decision was made with a heavy heart for a multitude of reasons that we cannot disclose.

For now, only PC, App Store & Google Play has been removed. Microsoft version will follow Jan 31, 2022 and then Nintendo Switch by the end of July 2022.”

With no clear reason behind the deletion, many have started speculating as to why the company decided to delist the game on virtually all platforms. Some users believe it might be a legal issue the company is battling, and that some sort of license agreement had ran out or been violated, while others think the reason could be more lucrative, asserting that Asmodee simply wishes to rebuild the game to be more profitable and introduce more microtransactions and such. 

At the time of writing there had still been no official statement from the publisher regarding the removal of ‘Pandemic,’ so it’s anybody’s guess what the actual reason is. Perhaps they just want the pandemic to end and this is a symbolic gesture.