Bandai Namco Steam RPG Delisted With No Warning

02.03.2024 - 21:20 / gamerant.com / Bandai Namco / Michael Brandon Ingram

Bandai Namco RPG Ray Gigant has been quietly delisted from Steam, with fans no longer able to purchase the dungeon-crawler originally developed by Experience. As one of the biggest third-party developers, Bandai Namco has released a wide variety of games, both featuring licensed games and original properties. The massive studio holds video game rights for several of the most popular anime series, including the Dragon Ball franchise, Naruto, and Digimon. Now, one of the publisher's lesser-known games has suddenly been removed from Steam, making it unavailable on modern platforms.

First released for the PS Vita in 2015, later coming to North America and Europe in 2016, Ray Gigant thrusts players into a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo. The game plays out as a dungeon crawler JRPG, tasking players with taking control of a «Gigant» in order to fend off an invasion from an alien race. Ray Gigant received a port to Steam just a few months after its international debut, with the PS Vita also receiving a physical release from Limited Run Games in 2017. Now, Bandai Namco has unexpectedly removed Ray Gigant from Steam.

The change in Ray Gigant's Steam listing came recently with fans no longer able to purchase the Bandai Namco JRPG from Steam's online store. Bandai Namco did not officially announce the delisting of Ray Gigant, instead quietly removing the game from Steam. Ray Gigant has not received a port to any modern consoles outside of Steam, with the PC version's delisting removing the last available version of the game. The RPG's PS Vita version previously became unavailable through official means following the closure of the PS Vita's PlayStation Store in 2021.

Ray Gigant's unexpected removal from Steam comes as recent rumors have suggested that Bandai Namco may be revisiting several of its classic franchises. Bandai Namco recently filed new trademarks for multiple older series, including Ms. Pac-Man, Splatterhouse, and Namco Museum among others. The publisher has yet to confirm official revivals of any games included in the list, though the trademarks suggest future entries may be coming. The surprise trademarks were also joined by several cancelations, with the «rising cost» of game development cited as a major factor.

With plenty of rumors swirling around Bandai Namco's future games, the studio already has several projects lined up for 2024. January saw Tekken 8 debut to critical acclaim, becoming one of the best-selling games of its launch month. Bandai Namco will welcome the worldwide release of Spy x Anya: Operation Memories in June and Supermassive Games' Little Nightmares 3, scheduled for a 2024 release. Ray Gigant's delisting likely marks the end for one of Bandai Namco's more obscure JRPGs.