Alpha Protocol taken down from Steam because the licensed music rights have expired

[Infinitron]

"We've reached out to Obsidian Entertainment for comment."

 

[conan_edw]

I wonder how MCA feels about this since he repeatedly showed interest in making a sequel :D

 

[Duraframe300]

I wonder how MCA feels about this since he repeatedly showed interest in making a sequel :D

*Not really*

 

[TripJack]

I bet on it just being seen as a taint by the publisher that should cease to exist.

they're not wrong

 

[Roguey]

Chris is definitely disappointed.



Oh well, it's not like it was his idea.

 

[Nano]

If Microsoft can't write MCA a check big enough to convince him to come back for AP2, then I'd settle for just bringing Travis Stout back. Dunno how willing he'd be to leave his cushy Ubisoft job, though.

 

[Duraframe300]

All the reactions from different sites made me realize that a lot of people don't seem to have realized that Microsoft bought Obsidian.

Like tons of people questioning which publisher Obsidian will work with to continue the IP or people being 100% sure that its now going to be an Epic Store Exclusive.

I mean what?

 

[deuxhero]

Interesting this happens right before a steam sale.

 

[jf8350143]

Hope we get a character creation this time around.

 

[HoboForEternity]

is it called alpha protocol because it's the state of the game when it came out?

Spoiler

jk i love this game, i hope it is a sequel or at least a remaster

 

[ironmask]

Shit, never got the chance to buy alpha protocol. Guess I will just pirate.

 

[Nano]

Shit, never got the chance to buy alpha protocol. Guess I will just pirate.

If you were going to buy AP on Steam for legal or moral reasons, then you should know that the retail version is still very much available for purchase at Amazon and other places. There's a patch from SEGA that removes the DRM.

 

[Nutria]

So if Sega's rights expired, who do they revert to? Obsidian?

 

[hexer]

Interesting this happens right before a steam sale.

I don't think that matters.
AP was regularly on a 90% discount during sales.
You don't go for that discount on big earners.

 

[commie]

Come on baaabyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

AP2!!!

I LIKE ALPHA PROTOCOL THIS MUCH!!!!

(no irony)

 

[Wunderbar]

commie because of Brayko?

 

[Flou]

Sweeet. That Unreal Engine game with multiplayer features better be Alpha Protocol 2 or I will be seriously unhappy!

Seriously though. Just tweak the gameplay from what Sega insisted to actual fun gameplay where you hit what you aim at, come up with a new story and new characters and locales. Keep the hub system and the conversation system and most of the mechanics, just scratch the minigames or make them more fun. Keep the replayability and the length at 15-20 hours per playthrough. Even to this day, I still find out (from youtube) conversations and events that I missed on my 3 playthroughs. Can't say the same for many other similar games. And it's not like there is much competition in real world based crpgs with stealth and good story. It would be a Day 1 purchase for me.

AP had all the fucking tools to beat Mass Effect. It got killed due to it being released after ME2 (when it was supposed to be released before it) and Sega's decision to make it play more as a crpg (thus ruining any shooter game mechanics).

 

[commie]

commie because of Brayko?

Hehehe yeah Brayko was actually a really good stereotype of the 90's slav villain...we actually had that type of 80's influenced crim with mullet etc. popular in the early-mid 90's. Not so much in the 00's, but as a diehard throw back he made sense.

But Heck was great, the reactivity was awesome...the game just needed to have taken Splinter Cell mechanics instead of the actual jankiness like 'invisibility in full view' skills etc. and it would have been a classic for the ages instead of a cult game with a lot of great stuff and equal amount of jank.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Alpha pro2col

2 Alpha 2 Protocol

You guys forgot the Codexian version: Alpha Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

 

[norolim]

Hmm... I have an old CD Projekt distributed DVD copy of AP, that I never installed. I wonder if I'll be able to activate it now .

 

[Quillon]

I have a feeling Obsidian forgot about this entirely...

If that was the case Obs would have tweeted out a wishful comment by now; "We'd love to make a sequel but bla bla". IMO, either they've been working on it or will start to work on it, not ready to announce anything yet.

 

[Nano]

Hmm... I have an old CD Projekt distributed DVD copy of AP, that I never installed. I wonder if I'll be able to activate it now .

https://alphaprotocol.fandom.com/wiki/Patch_1.1
https://support.sega.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/201561101-Alpha-Protocol-Activation-Update

Patch 1.1 removes the DRM.

 

[Stinger]

I LIKED ALPHA PROTOCOL THIS MUCH!

 

[cloudropis]

Fuck yes.
Remaster it, and do it now, also make the hacking minigame twice as hard and kB+m only. I want fuckers to learn how to not move their mouse like a gorilla.

 

[Cross]

Sweeet. That Unreal Engine game with multiplayer features better be Alpha Protocol 2 or I will be seriously unhappy!

Seriously though. Just tweak the gameplay from what Sega insisted to actual fun gameplay

Are you not aware that Obsidian initially wanted Alpha Protocol to be a purely cover-based shooter affair until Sega stepped in and forced them to add a stealth system, more fleshed out RPG elements and more meaningful reactivity?

Not that the final product was any fun, mind you, but I shudder to think it could have been even worse.