Reports are surfacing that multiple titles in the Alien universe are disappearing from Steam. We were able to confirm one of them, 2013’s Alien: Colonial Marines, has been removed.

The title received critical panning and is the subject of an ongoing class-action lawsuit. The other title identified as absent is Rebellion’s Aliens vs. Predator (2010). A similarly named title, Aliens vs. Predator Classic (2000) is still available on the platform as of this time.

Alien: Isolation, released in October 2014, is likewise unaffected. We’ve reached out to Sega for comment and will update should we receive a response.

Update: We've been made aware that the 2010 release of Aliens vs. Predator (and not AvP Classic, which we linked above) has been removed from Steam. We apologize for the confusion.

[Source: Reddit via IGN]

Our Take

It’s unlikely that this is a licensing issue related to the Alien franchise. It is wildly improbable that Sega would have released a game in October only to have the rights expire less than three months later.

Games disappear and reappear from Steam regularly. This might be a glitch or, Sega simply could have chosen to excise it from its library given the negative press and legal action (which the publisher has since settled). Gearbox is still combatting the suit in court.