Spec Ops: The Line Devs Pay Tribute To Harrowing Shooter As It Disappears From Storefronts

This week, the surprise news that Spec Ops: The Line had started being delisted across digital storefronts filtered through the pipeline, with console versions following PC platforms. In the wake of all this going down, several developers have paid tribute to the Xbox 360 era 2K shooter - famous for its strong storyline and at times, harrowing scenes.

One former developer at Spec Ops creator Yager posted about how he'll "always be proud of the whole Spec Ops: The Line team", while also paying tribute to "the former 2K producers who prevented the game's cancellation multiple times".

I will always be proud of the whole #SpecOpsTheLine team.

I will be always grateful to the former @2k producers who prevented the game's cancellation multiple times.

And still, to this day, I feel proud of my time at @YAGERdev. One of the best studios out there. Period. pic.twitter.com/kmfVoz4dIV

— Enrique Colinet (@Baxayaun) January 30, 2024

Meanwhile, the game's original director Cory Davis had questions to pose to publisher 2K, while also saying that the news was "devastating" for him personally. Davis thinks the delisting "makes no sense", while in the same breadth claiming that "this is not the end for Spec Ops: The Line".

Devastating personally, but also for those who poured their souls into its creation alongside me as developers, and for the gaming community at large. This is not the end for Spec Ops: The Line. https://t.co/BbWXwAOxK7— Cory Davis (@Snak3Fist) January 30, 2024

That last part is particularly interesting given that Davis no longer works with 2K and is instead at studio Eyes Out - working on a "cosmic horror game" at present. Davis has gone on record to express his desire for a Spec Ops remaster though, so, maybe this week's news will push him to try and get answers on that front.

If you'd like to read some sort of tribute from us here at Pure Xbox, well, we did just that about a year and a half ago when the game became 10 years old. Spec Ops: The Line is still an amazing third person shooter, and it'll live long in the memory regardless of its digital disappearance.