Update – 6/5 – 2:57 PM: GOG has confirmed on their forums that those who have purchased Minecraft: Story Mode will be able to download the game even after it is delisted from the GOG store page. If we receive information on whether or not Steam will allow players to download the game after June 25, we will post an update.
Original Story:
In the wake of the Telltale Games studio closure, Minecraft: Story Mode will be removed from digital platforms later this month. Those who have previously bought the game have until June 25 to download it, according to an update on the Minecraft website. The update urges players who haven’t downloaded their purchase to do so before the aforementioned date. After that, the game will not be available for download.
This news comes after the publisher Telltale Games announced its closure last year. The studio’s collapse came as a surprise for many, especially for fans of The Walking Dead games. When Telltale announced its closure, The Walking Dead: Season Four was still under development. Skybound Entertainment, headed by The Walking Dead comic book creator Robert Kirkman, stepped in and announced that it would take over the development of the game. Currently, The Walking Dead game series now sells exclusively on the Epic Games Store.
Minecraft’s not alone
Telltale began liquidating its assets last November when many of its games were removed from Steam. More recently, GOG has removed all Telltale games from its own storefront. This is unusual for GOG, a company known for its DRM-free policy. In this case, GOG likely had no choice. Telltale’s closure has left most of its games without a publisher. According to Eurogamer, 2K Games is working to get Tales from the Borderlands back up on storefronts.
The rise and fall of Telltale Games proves that studio closures are common in the industry. The high cost of game development has left many studios to collapse over the years. Others are simply bought up by larger studios.
The future of Minecraft: Story Mode and other Telltale IP appears grim. Unless another publisher steps in to purchase and redistribute Telltale’s property, it looks like we won’t see many of their games again.
