Late last week Asmodee Digital delisted Pandemic: The Board Game from Steam and mobile platforms. In the time since, the company has confirmed to at least one fan that the Xbox and Switch versions will also be removed from sale; January 31st for Xbox and “end of July” for Switch. Redditor bad_boy_barry contacted the company after noticing the game’s disappearance on iPhone and reportedly received the following reply in an email:
Hello,
First of all, we want to thank you and all the Pandemic players for your loyalty and support over time. Unfortunately, we are taking the Pandemic app off the stores. We have worked hard over 4 years on Pandemic and withdrawing it from the stores has not been an easy choice. This decision was made with a heavy heart for a multitude of reasons that we cannot disclose.
For now, only PC, App Store & Google Play has been removed. Microsoft version will follow Jan 31th 2022 and then Nintendo Switch by the end of July 2022.
Regarding the game, as long as it has been purchased and downloaded prior to removal from the store, then you will continue to have access to the game. If you do uninstall the game, you will need to access your library to locate and install the game again.
We appreciate your continued support all this time. Thank you for your understanding,
Best regards, Asmodee Digital Support
While it reads like the kind of announcement we’re used to seeing on digital store pages and social media accounts, Asmodee has yet to publicly share this news. The company has also removed the game from their homepage at asmodee-digital.com. With reasons undisclosed, speculation ranges from concerns over appearing to capitalize on the COVID-19 pandemic to an upcoming re-release of the game.
I’ve added the dates for the remaining versions of the game to the Watch List calendar and will have a page up on the site later. Thanks to HandMaskTar for pointing out the news.