Hinterland Studio, the developer behind survival game The Long Dark, has pulled its game from Nvidia GeForce Now because the streaming service never asked for the studio's permission to host it in the first place. The Long Dark is just the latest game to be removed from the service.
Game director Raphael van Lierop explained the decision on Twitter, saying, "Sorry to those who are disappointed you can no longer play The Long Dark on GeForce Now. Nvidia didn't ask for our permission to put the game on the platform so we asked them to remove it. Please take your complaints to them, not us. Devs should control where their games exist.
Sorry to those who are disappointed you can no longer play #thelongdark on GeForce Now. Nvidia didn't ask for our permission to put the game on the platform so we asked them to remove it. Please take your complaints to them, not us. Devs should control where their games exist.
— Raphael van Lierop (@RaphLife) March 1, 2020
"Nvidia admitted they made a mistake releasing without our permission, apologized, asked us if we'd like to stay on the platform, and we said 'not at the moment,'" van Lierop continued. "Today's world is getting complex for devs, with lots of platform changes and shifts to streaming, so devs have to be able to plan a strategy for how their games will appear and where, as a means of running a business. All the platforms acknowledge this."
The decision was an oversight on Nvidia's part, and van Lierop says The Long Dark might return to GeForce Now in the future. However, the director admits that controlling your own content is key to running a sustainable business and supporting games and their customers.
Hinterland isn't the first developer to remove its games from GeForce Now. Activision Blizzard pulled its library from the service last month, causing it to lose the likes of Overwatch, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and World of Warcraft. Nvidia responded to the removal, stating that it's working with Activision Blizzard to resolve the matter. "While unfortunate, we hope to work together with Activision Blizzard to reenable these games and more in the future."
Bethesda also removed most of its library from the service, pulling games such as Doom and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The one exception is Wolfenstein: Youngblood, which will remain available for GeForce Now subscribers.
Despite this, over 1 million people have signed up for GeForce Now and Nvidia has teased that over 1,500 games are coming to the streaming service in the future.