2K quietly removed almost all the WWE games from Steam

 2K has taken the majority of WWE games from Steam without warning. While the previous owners of the games can still access them, anyone who wants to purchase the games on Steam must find a key from a third-party seller.

According to Steam-Tracker.com(opens in new tab), WWE 2K17, 18, 19, and 20 were all removed from sale on Steam around July 13. 2K did not attempt to publicize the delistings. It was only after a Reddit user attempted to locate the older games on Steam(opens new tab) that the removals were discovered.

Due to the delistings, the only 2K WWE games that are currently available on Steam are this year’s WWE 2K22 as well as the much-loved arcade wrestling game WWE Battlegrounds. It's good to know that WWE 2K22 was well-received. The games before it were mediocre to terrible (opens in new tab), so it's possible that 2K has done everyone a favor by making sure that no one accidentally picks up older titles.

It's not uncommon for games to disappear from digital storefronts. This is often due expiring licence agreements. Both Alpha Protocol and Alan Wake were pulled from Steam by expiring music rights. Metal Gear Solid 2 was also removed from GOG due to licensing issues regarding historical footage (opens in new window). It is not uncommon for something similar to happen with older WWE games.

2K has not yet provided any information about delistings. I have reached out to them for comment, and will update you if they respond.

This is, to put it mildly, a major moment for WWE. In the wake of a series of allegations of sexual misconduct, Vince McMahon was recently named as the company's long-serving boss. The company plans to expand into new genres due to the commercial and critical success of WWE 2K22. All of this suggests that the WWE and its partner may have other pressing issues than getting older titles on digital store shelves.