Eddster: If Steam is fine with the game why is it not back on there?
_Auster_: afaik, at least on Steam, it was the publisher that removed the game, not Steam itself
Gersen: But the game is still not available back on Steam despite the devs wanting resume to selling it internationally.
I don't know. Ask the devs. Not me.
It really doesn't change what I said nor Steam's past allowance of release.
_Auster_: I'm not sure, maybe it fell under the radar back when it was originally banned so no one was interested in publishing it before GOG
I think people should draw a sharp line between:
A.Distribution platforms not seeking game Z ALL BY THEMSELVES
B.Game Z devs not being successfull at signing distribution contracts with undisclosed chunk of existing distribution platforms.
_Auster_: or maybe the publishers are too afraid of the CCP
I think after all they went through Devotion devs are cautious of any moves they make and they will likely stay silent about any talks they may be part of for game distribution until it's confirmed to "go through".
_Auster_: But, with the recent events from GOG, there are people that showed interest in publishing it, like Top Hat Studios and the Zoom Platform, so maybe it's just a matter of time before the game sees the light of day once again.
Hopefully it will be released SOMEWHERE eventually.
They could even self-publish on their own website. That would obviously attract DDoS from "many 'gamers'" but would ultimately pay off.
I on one hand would wish Playism would publish Devotion (since they already publish Detention) but on the other hand - Playism is a VERY small, indie-focused platform, with rather small IT infrastructure - and since I care about the platform I kind of am afraid it could get DDoS'ed into oblivion and possibly turned to ash :( I hope Playism would publish it, but not at their own cost (well it's a REALLY small platform so they cannot afford vast marketing nor broad IT infrastructure so they would be VERY lucrative target for "many 'gamers'").
Eddster: If Steam is fine with the game why is it not back on there?
Aver: From what I heard it's because the publisher still holds exclusive rights to releasing it on Steam, but they don't want to do that for obvious reason. Until the deal expires they can't publish it by themselves.
That is plausible explanation.
Tho there is this:
https://steamdb.info/app/1006510/history/?changeid=5859638 which I don't know how I should interpret that.
As you can see here:
https://steamdb.info/app/1006510/history/?changeid=5838819 the changed id was here added as the publisher.
So with change 5859638 it looks from all sorts of perspectives like changing publishing rights from that id to developers themsevles.
Tho without official statements it's not official by any means (tho that data IS REAL as far as what is set within Steam store page was set).