A
post on Reddit reveals that
Pandemic: The Board Game has been
delisted
on
Steam, and is no longer available for purchase. This strategy game was
released in 2018, so it was certainly not an effort to exploit COVID-19 at the
time. It does seems possible the removal is still related to the coronavirus
outbreak, but the notice on the Steam Listing is inscrutable: "At the request of
the publisher, Pandemic: The Board Game is no longer available for sale on
Steam." Those who already own it should still be able to play the game going
forward.
PC Gamer includes word on the one way to still get this:
Though no
official announcement has been made, one player contacted Asmodee support and
was told via email that, "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." The
email also claimed that Pandemic would be leaving the Xbox store on January 31,
and Switch by the end of July.
Pandemic is no longer mentioned anywhere on Asmodee Digital's website. A look at
the Wayback Machine shows that its page was removed in November or December of
2021. However, one digital version of Pandemic remains—on browser-based tabletop
gaming platform Board Game Arena, which Asmodee bought last year. You can play
Pandemic there for free right now, and with online multiplayer, something the
Steam version didn't have.