A game on Steam had to close for an absurd reason. The developers lost the most important thing: the source code.
The cover image is a symbolic image.
When a game disappears from Steam, it is often because the developer is bankrupt or promises were not kept. But every now and then there are strange stories, such as in the case of Quantum Lock. Because even though the game was not particularly successful, the developer was actually doing well. Nevertheless, it has now disappeared from Steam, with a strange reason:
The developers no longer have access to the game’s source code.
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What kind of game is Phantom Lock? At its core, Phantom Lock is a kind of “cat and mouse” game. At the beginning of the game, the players are divided into two groups. The so-called “rogue programs” try to hack the computer and extract as much data as possible. One person, however, becomes the “anti-virus” and must try to catch and isolate all the malicious programs in order to keep the PC free of viruses.
Each character has different abilities and each program belongs to different “classes”, which allows for different playing styles.
The game is played in short, snappy matches that rarely last longer than a few minutes. Phantom Lock describes itself as “lighthearted fun with non-violent competition.”
What happened now? In a new post, the developer announced that the game will no longer be available for sale on Steam. The reason: They have lost access to the game’s own source code:
Hey everyone,
Quantum Lock was our first game and although it was a milestone for us, it was created at a time before we understood version control software. We no longer have access to the source code and cannot make fixes or changes to the game. As a result, we have decided that copies of this game will no longer be available for purchase.
Community is having a great time: The Steam subreddit is quite amused by the incident and says: “This might be the funniest reason I’ve ever seen for a game to close.” Many comments agree and also find the whole thing extremely entertaining, which results in over 17,000 upvotes:
As funny as it may look from the outside, it is probably a disaster for the developers. Losing access to your own source code is a devastating event for any developer. But one thing is certain: this studio will not make a mistake like this again.