Key Takeaways
- Multiple delisted Activision games, like Deadpool, have been updated on Steam after years of being unavailable.
- The update implies new screenshots were added, sparking speculation that the games could return to digital storefronts.
- Despite hopes for a comeback, players should remain cautious until concrete evidence of the games’ return emerges.
Multiple delisted, Activision-published licensed titles have recently been updated on Steam, including 2013’s Deadpool. Before Ryan Reynolds helped bring the Merc with a Mouth into the mainstream with the live-action Deadpool films, Transformers: War of Cybertron developer High Moon Studios released a stand-alone video game chronicling the adventures of Wade Wilson for the seventh and eighth console generations. While Deadpool gained cult status among comic book gaming fans, it was eventually delisted from Steam and other online outlets due to Activision losing its Marvel license in 2014, though it briefly returned to promote the first Deadpool film in 2015.
Deadpool wasn’t the only Marvel video game to fall victim to this, as multiple Spider-Man games and the first two Marvel Ultimate Alliance titles have also become lost in the wake of Activision’s expired licensing agreements. High Moon’s well-received Transformers: War for Cybertron and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron were also delisted in 2017 alongside PlatinumGames’ Transformers: Devastation, meaning that the only way for anyone to legally play these licensed titles is to have a rare physical copy on hand.
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Deadpool hasn’t been available to purchase on Steam for about seven years at this time, but Twitter user Knoebel recently noted that the game’s Steam database page was updated last week alongside six other discontinued Activision titles. The other games to receive this mysterious update are Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Transformers Devastation, the first two Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, and 2010’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. The update in question is listed as “added store_screenshot,” which seems to imply that screenshots were added or changed for each page.
Seven Delisted Activision Games Were Updated
- Deadpool
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
- Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
- Transformers: Devastation
- Transformers: War for Cybertron
- Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
This would be a strange update to give, since the games in question are all delisted and nobody would be able to access the pages to see the added screenshots. Hence, some players are taking this as a sign that Activision could be looking to bring back these lost licensed games through Microsoft, as it has implied in the past with the Transformers games. Meanwhile, the Deadpool game was recently brought back into the spotlight following Deadpool and Wolverine, with physical copies being offered up for nearly $50,000.
Of course, this recent Steam update might not amount to much of anything, so players should take any claims that Deadpool or any other licensed Activision games returning to online storefronts with a grain of salt until more concrete evidence presents itself. That being said, the games updated are some of the most well-regarded Marvel and Transformers games out there, with many fans hoping to this day for an easier legal outlet to play them.
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