Evil Dead_ The Game is being removed from sale just three years after it launched

Just three years after its launch—and only two years after arriving on Steam, after a year as an Epic Store exclusive—the groovy multiplayer horror game is being removed from sale. Why? Rather like the famed incantation that enables safe handling of the Necronomicon, we're not so sure about that.

Evil Dead: The Game first disappeared without warning from the Epic Games Store and the PlayStation Store. I initially thought it might be a mistake, or a store-specific reshuffling of some sort, but a message posted today on confirms the takedown is intentional, and across all platforms.

"We can confirm we've begun the process of removing the game from digital storefronts," publisher Saber Interactive wrote. "Anyone who has purchased the game will still be able to play it as we plan to keep our servers online for everyone.

"We want to extend a sincere thank you to our community, to those who have been part of the game from the very beginning, and those who have recently joined us. We appreciate all of your support."

And that's the extent of it: No reason for the removal was given, and Saber declined to comment further.

One [[link]] seemingly likely possibility is that the rights to the property, or some significant part of it, have expired. Three years seems like an awfully short timeline for that sort of thing, but it's a relatively common reason for takedowns like this: Forza Horizon 4, for instance, was because of expiring licenses. It was six years old when it was pulled, twice the age of Evil Dead, but even that, as we noted at the time, isn't all that terribly old.

Whatever the reason, it's a shame to see it go. Evil Dead: The Game delivered "the best multiplayer horror experience since at least Dead By Daylight," we said in our , and while concurrent player counts on Steam are minuscule these days—the 24-hour peak was just 36, according to —that doesn't seem like it'd be a factor in the decision, given that the servers are staying up—at least for now.

Evil Dead: The Game remains listed on , but the ability to purchase it was switched off earlier today. If you really want it before it's gone for good, though, you can still pick it up from Steam key retailers including , , , and the .