A game on Steam had to shut down for an absurd reason. The developers lost the most important thing: The source code.
The title image is a symbolic image.
When a game disappears from Steam, it’s often because the developer is bankrupt or promises couldn’t be kept. However, there are also curious stories now and then, like in the case of Quantum Lock. Because even though the game wasn’t particularly successful, the developer was actually doing fine. Nonetheless, it has now vanished from Steam with a curious explanation:
The developers no longer have access to the source code of the game.
What kind of game is Quantum Lock? At its core, Quantum Lock is a type of “cat and mouse” game. At the beginning of the game, players are divided into 2 groups. The so-called “Rogue Programs” that try to hack the computer and extract as much data as possible. However, one person becomes the “Anti-Virus” and must try to catch and isolate all the malware to keep the PC free of viruses.
Each character has different abilities and each program belongs to different “classes”, allowing for various playstyles.
The game is played in short, snappy rounds that rarely last more than a few minutes. Quantum Lock describes itself as “carefree fun with non-violent competition”.
What has happened now? In a new post, the developer announced that the game will no longer be offered for sale on Steam starting now. The reason: They have lost access to their own source code of the game:
Hey everyone,
Quantum Lock was our first game and although it was a milestone for us, it was created at a time before we understood software version control. We no longer have access to the source code and cannot make any fixes or changes to the game. Therefore, we have decided that copies of this game can no longer be purchased.
The community finds it hilarious: In the Steam subreddit, people are having a good laugh about the incident and say: “This must be the funniest reason I’ve ever seen for a game to shut down.” Many comments join in and also find the whole thing extremely entertaining, resulting in over 17,000 upvotes:
- “Anyone looking for an ‘authentic indie studio’ game has found their home here.” – cavalier24601
- “Honestly, I would want to buy the game now to support the developers, lol” – TwixxleFuzz
- “At least they are being honest about it. That’s a big plus for me.” – TowerRough
As funny as it may seem from the outside, for the developers this is probably quite a disaster. Losing access to their own source code must be a crushing event for any developer. However, one thing can be said for sure: Such a mistake will not happen to this studio a second time.
