Update: DLgamer has given a response to a user on NeoGAF about the situation after speaking with Sega.
Sega just answered us.We will continue to follow this story and update you as more information becomes available.It's an issue on Genba side which are managing all Steam code have encountered a technical issue, sega is already informed and are reactiving games codes accordingly to that problem
Activations codes will be reactivated in 24/48 hours.
Sorry for inconvenience.
Kind Regards
DLgamer staff
Original Story Below
This afternoon, several gamers (and our News Editor) have taken to NeoGAF and the Steam forums in order to express concern that their Steam copies of Castle of Illusion have been revoked. Originally released digitally in 2013, this remake of the classic Genesis platformer was removed from digital storefronts on September 2nd, 2016. This means that affected customers have no way to repurchase the game legally.
From what we could gather, only certain storefront's keys have been affected, including certain purchases made on IndieGala, Bundle Stars, Green Man Gaming, and the recently shut down Games Republic. Other purchases, such as those seen directly from Steam and through Humble, have not had any affected customers that we could see, and some customers who used the affected storefronts are experiencing no issues. Looking at the affected purchases, it seems that most of the keys revoked were acquired during the final days of the game's digital life. However, according to some customers, purchases as far back as 2015 have also been revoked as part of this action.
In addition, at least one Bundle Stars customer on the Steam forums was able to acquire a new key that worked via the original purchase link after their key was revoked.
The only official response on the matter so far comes from Gamesplanet, who offered this post on Reddit.
Hi guys,The exact reason as to why these keys were revoked is unknown at this time, but one can assume that it is an action taken by either SEGA or Disney due to the message above as well as it affecting several storefronts at once. TechRaptor has reached out to all the companies involved for a response and will update this article as the situation develops.Will give you a statement here on the matter. We noticed that SEGA has revoked copies of Castle of Illusion on Steam from users accounts, this problem reaches to other stores as well and we've not requested the revoke at all.
We have contacted the publisher and will get a resolution on this matter as soon as we can (hopefully soon). Rest assured, anyone that has bought a game from us will get their game back.
Gamesplanet
Disclosure: TechRaptor has partnered with Green Man Gaming as part of our Pack Hunter membership program.
Have you been affected by this Castle of Illusion issue? Have you been affected by a similar issue on Steam in the past? Do you think there should be safeguards in place for customers who purchased delisted games from digital storefronts? Let us know in the comments below!