 | Digital Release: | Xbox 360 January 13, 2010 (EU, US) Steam November 24, 2009 |
| Delisting: | January 17th, 2015 - Xbox 360 (Available For: 5y 0m) |
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| Developer: | Croteam | |
| Publisher: | Majesco Devolver Digital Mastertronic Group (Digital, EU,AU Retail) Maximum Games (US Retail) |
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| Available On: | Steam Retail (see below) |
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| Links: | Serious Sam Homepage Xbox.com page |
Delisting
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter was delisted from Xbox Live Arcade by approximately January 17th, 2015. It was also included in the digital version of Serious Sam HD: The First & Second Encounters and The Serious Sam Collection. These compilations are also delisted. The First Encounter was delisted as Mastertronic Group went into Administration in November of 2015. As of April 2016 the demo version remains available on Xbox Live Arcade. Continue reading for the whole story.
The ‘Serious Sam’ Series Delisting Mega Story
On June 25th, 2009 Majesco Entertainment announced that they would be publishing Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter for Xbox 360 “in partnership” with a fledgling Devolver Digital. The original announcement called for a “late summer 2009” release but the game was pushed back to January 13th, 2010 for both the US and Europe. Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter was released on September 22nd, 2010 again by Majesco and Devolver Digital. By early 2011 Majesco was no longer involved in publishing Serious Sam titles.
Devolver Digital moved on to work with Mastertronic Group to bring Serious Sam HD: The First & Second Encounters to both digital (US, EU) and retail (AU, EU) release in late March of 2011. Devolver and Mastertronic continued working together to release digital versions of Serious Sam 3: BFE and Serious Sam Double D XXL on Xbox Live Arcade and PC in 2013.
Later that year the two publishers released The Serious Sam Collection featuring The First and Second Encounters, Serious Sam 3: BFE and Serious Sam Double D XXL. The collection was again released digitally and at retail in Europe and Australia by Mastertronic Group. The physical edition was released in the US by Maximum Games. All editions were released in late July of 2013.
The titles in The Serious Sam Collection remained available as individual downloads until Mastertronic Group went into Administration in November of 2015. According to captures by archive.org the titles were approximately delisted by the following dates:
- Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter – by January 17th, 2015
- Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter – between September and October 2015
- Serious Sam 3: BFE – sometime after October 2015
- Serious Sam Double D XXL – by October 2015
As of April 2016 all titles remain available on PC via Steam with Serious Sam 3: BFE also available to download on PlayStation 3. Trial versions of Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter and Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter remain available on Xbox Live Arcade.
About the Game
“The classic arcade FPS Serious Sam: The First Encounter, which scored an overall of 87% on Metacritic and was awarded Game of The Year 2001 on Gamespot, is now reborn in glorious high-definition for legions of long-time fans and a whole new generation of gamers around the world.
Featuring dazzling visuals and revamped design, gamers take control of the legendary Sam ‘Serious’ Stone as he is sent back through time to ancient Egypt to battle the overwhelming forces of Notorious Mental and the Sirian army.
Play through more than 14 levels of bedlam set against the expansive backdrop of ancient Egypt. Embrace the mayhem with up to four players through online co-op on Xbox LIVE. Post your hard-earned score to the leaderboards. Earn all those wicked achievements.“