Rogue-likes have enjoyed a surge in popularity since the success of Hades on Steam. So it’s no wonder that other titles are also adopting the strengths of Hades. With 92% positive votes, “Realm of Ink” certainly belongs to those representatives of the genre that are well-received by players. Now, its disappearance is causing confusion.
Why has the game vanished? Realm of Ink launched in Early Access on Steam on September 27, 2024, and since then, it has received a bunch of positive reviews (viewable via Archive). But now, the game has seemingly disappeared overnight from the platform, and the shop page can no longer be found.
Besides Realm of Ink, it seems that all other games from the publisher have also vanished from Steam. Particularly since the full release of the game was most recently moved from January to March 2025 (via x.com), this situation has caused confusion and concern within the community (via Steam).
However, even the developers themselves do not yet know the reason for this. They wrote in a post via Steam:
We would like to inform you that Realm of Ink has been removed from the Steam store. Unfortunately, we do not currently know the exact reason for this action, but we are doing our best to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Accordingly, the developers are working on a solution to the problem. However, it is still unclear whether and when the game will return to the store. Players who have already purchased the game still have it in their library and can play it as usual.
Much of Hades, but also enough of its own
Why was the game so well received? In Realm of Ink, you initially take on the role of Red, who wants to break free from her predetermined fate in a fictional world. While many parallels to the popular genre pioneer Hades become apparent in the trailer, Realm of Ink also offers a lot of its own.
The obviously Asian influences give the visuals a fresh touch. Additionally, you have cute companions with you, whom you can modify on your journey with something called Ink Gems. These also grant you new abilities. Over time, many other characters can be unlocked, with whom you can then make your escape.
Rogue-likes generally have a certain allure that quickly leads to spending countless hours in them. This was also the case for MeinMMO demon Cortyn when it came to being distracted from other games for just a moment: I wanted an evening of distraction, then 100 hours passed
