The titles removed include:

Any bundles that included the removed titles have also been removed.

Valve has yet to make any statement about the titles disappearing from the store. However, it is currently believed that the Federal Department of Media Harmful to Young Persons - a branch of the German government - is at least partially responsible. 

This is not the first time that games have been removed from the German store. Many games - such as Alekhine’s Gun - had been removed from Steam simply for bearing the Nazi symbol which is grounds for an automatic ban. As such, the recent removals of titles - that are on the German government branch’s “index” - is no surprise.

Alekhine’s Gun - being a game set during WWII - bears the Nazi symbol for realism purposes. However, German law does not allow the symbol to exist in entertainment media.

That said, it seems rather odd that some of these titles have been removed while others remain intact. For example, Star Wars: Dark Forces is hardly the most realistic or violent FPS game in the world. After all, the game originally came out in 1995. Meanwhile, Star Wars: Dark Forces II - Jedi Knight still remains available for purchase.

Look at those realistic, heavily pixelated DOOM era graphics! It might incite violence in the youth! Think of the children!

Another abnormality is that many of the games on the list are over decades of years old. One would think that if they posed such a problem for the German government - or Steam’s operations in Germany - that these would have been removed long ago. 

While BloodRayne 2’s leading lady made it on my Top 10 sword-swinging divas, the game is over a decade old…

Hopefully some sort of clarification as to why the games have been removed comes soon. At the very least, players who own the games should still have the right to install the games, even if they aren’t on the store anymore. If indeed the players have lost the ability to play these games then Valve - or those responsible for the removal - should compensate them for their loss.

What do you think about the way Germany controls their entertainment media? Why do you think Star Wars: Dark Forces was removed of all things? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!