Store's stance on abandonware?

[Aya]

While we got some rare cases of games being accused as abandonware, I think it'd be worth wondering as to what is Valve's stance on Steam Store games becoming abandonware.

To further clarify as to what i mean, I can recall two cases of two games having their PC versions abandoned in favour of console support: Mortal Kombat X and Jamestown, though both games ended up getting updates to bring them in line with the console releases (although it took a very long time and some angry customers)

[ReBoot]

Valve's stance is that unless there's a reason, i.e. expired licenses or misconduct from the developer, games stay on sale.

[Spawn of Totoro]

With those two examples, I don't see how they are abandonware. The games still run fine and people can still play them.

Just because a game does not receive updates, does not mean they are abandoned.

If you find a game that does not run, regardless of what you try and many others have the same issue, then you can report it by the game's store page.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Still playable though, correct?

[Ogami]

Thats not what abandonware means. At all.

[Aya]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Thats not what abandonware means. At all.

At the time that Mortal Kombat XL and Jamestown+ were new on consoles, there have been accusations of the game being abandoned. Should games be released on PC in such a state where support has ended on PC while the game is still multiple patches ahead on consoles, I have to wonder if that should be grounds for making an exception on the Steam refund policy.

[cinedine]

If it's on sale it's not abandonware.
If games are no longer updated, that simply means they are no longer updated. At some point developers move on.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by A Rural Birb:

At the time that Mortal Kombat XL and Jamestown+ were new on consoles, there have been accusations of the game being abandoned. Should games be released on PC in such a state where support has ended on PC while the game is still multiple patches ahead on consoles, I have to wonder if that should be grounds for making an exception on the Steam refund policy.

They are not abansoned though, they are just not getting updated.

Different platforms and different issues. As there is no cross-platform, patch version isn't an issue.

The same has happened in reverse many times, where the PC version gets more updates then the console, and there was no issues there either.

I see no reason to allow an exception as you are not guaranteed updates or additional content, regardless of the platform. You got what you paid for at the time of purchase.

[Ogami]

Originally posted by A Rural Birb:

At the time that Mortal Kombat XL and Jamestown+ were new on consoles, there have been accusations of the game being abandoned. Should games be released on PC in such a state where support has ended on PC while the game is still multiple patches ahead on consoles, I have to wonder if that should be grounds for making an exception on the Steam refund policy.

The term "abandonware" is reserved for games where no known license holder exist anymore.
Thats the ONLY definition of the term. As long as the game has someone who owns the license rights to it, its NOT abandonware.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by A Rural Birb:

Originally posted by Ogami:

Thats not what abandonware means. At all.

At the time that Mortal Kombat XL and Jamestown+ were new on consoles, there have been accusations of the game being abandoned. Should games be released on PC in such a state where support has ended on PC while the game is still multiple patches ahead on consoles, I have to wonder if that should be grounds for making an exception on the Steam refund policy.

There is a difference between abandonware and lesser support for games. The games you mentioned are NOT abandonware.

In that case the golden rule is "If it's playable, it's cool".

Game devs aren't required to bring the exact same version on all platforms. It would be nice, but they're not required to do so. So no, that shouldn't be grounds for exceptions on the refund policy.

[ElvisDeadly]

Originally posted by Ogami:

The term "abandonware" is reserved for games where no known license holder exist anymore.
Thats the ONLY definition of the term. As long as the game has someone who owns the license rights to it, its NOT abandonware.

This ^
You're using a term with a specific understood definition OP.

And even as described as above by Ogami, Abandonware has no real legal status

[Kargor]

Also, with your definition of "abandoned", half the store would be gone -- and while that wouldn't be bad, it's not the half that's filled with all those trash games.

Games just get ignored by publishers at some point, even if they have known bugs, even if there's a community patch or at least a description of what to do. I generally complain about Steam following a strict "publisher only" scheme and not even offering community patches as DLC -- but other than that, those games are fine.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Kargor:

not even offering community patches as DLC

Because Valve has no say in it. Devs/publishers decide what is DLC for their games, not Valve. Besides, community patches belong with mods, as that is what they are.

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by A Rural Birb:

Originally posted by Ogami:

Thats not what abandonware means. At all.

At the time that Mortal Kombat XL and Jamestown+ were new on consoles, there have been accusations of the game being abandoned. Should games be released on PC in such a state where support has ended on PC while the game is still multiple patches ahead on consoles, I have to wonder if that should be grounds for making an exception on the Steam refund policy.

On what grounds? Is the game broken?

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by ReBoot:

Originally posted by A Rural Birb:

At the time that Mortal Kombat XL and Jamestown+ were new on consoles, there have been accusations of the game being abandoned. Should games be released on PC in such a state where support has ended on PC while the game is still multiple patches ahead on consoles, I have to wonder if that should be grounds for making an exception on the Steam refund policy.

On what grounds? Is the game broken?

Doubt it, both games are still receiving positive reviews in the past days.

[Cathulhu]

As long as there is someone to receive the money and the game not being violating any rules, it stays.

Also Mortal Kombat XL is hardly broken. It does have its issues, like pretty much every game, but it's not broken or abandoned.