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

(Image credit: Saber Interactive)

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 Evil Dead: The 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 Steam confirms the takedown is intentional, and across all platforms.

One 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 removed from sale in December 2024 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 85% review, and while concurrent player counts on Steam are minuscule these days—the 24-hour peak was just 36, according to SteamDB—that doesn't seem like it'd be a factor in the decision, given that the servers are staying up—at least for now.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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