So Paranautical Activity got pulled from Steam the same day it released.

[Fireprufe15]

Earlier today Mike Maulbeck from Code Avarice, the developer of Paranuatical Activity, was complaining on Twitter about Valve saying that PA was still in Early Access, even though it released today. This was obviously costing him money as the limited time they are on the front page as a new release was being plagued by a banner saying they just released in Early Access.

Valve then aparently, from what I could tell, got angry at his tweets and completely pulled the game from Steam. I don't know much further, but this is pretty horrible.

Source: https://twitter.com/SpooderW

Edit: So aparently he made a death threat tweet about Gabe Newell, which, while probably in jest, is what got him pulled and is something he REALLY shouldn't have done. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=915901

 

[shrekfan246]

And yet Air Control [http://store.steampowered.com/app/295810/] is still on the store...

I would say the guy seems to be overreacting, especially if Valve hasn't provided a message as to why the game was taken down (if they took down games just because developers made tits of themselves on Twitter then a good portion of their better games would probably not actually be available).

I mean, if Paranautical Activity comes back up on the store tomorrow, the egg is going to be on this Mike guy's face, not Valve's. And if Valve did take it down just to spite the guy, then... well, I mean, I'm not really a big fan of Valve, but even I find it hard to believe they would do something like that. But if they did, then that's kind of incredibly scummy and shows exactly why having other digital storefronts isn't a bad idea. GOG.com, guys.

EDIT: Well, okay then. Yeah, definitely gonna say the guy overreacted hardcore.

It's worth bearing in mind as well that apparently the issue Mike originally was so enraged by was apparently fixed after only and hour or two, as well.

 

[TheIceQueen]

I'm thinking that developers should just stay off of Steam for their own good. Guys like Phil Fish like to explode for very little reason.

It was a small error fixed within a matter of hours. However, if I was in charge of such a distribution service and you so childishly tweeted a 'death threat' post, even in jest, I'd probably remove your game from my store as well. I doubt, for example, that Walmart would want to distribute the product of someone who wanted to murder their CEO, even if it was just a joke. It's honestly just good business. If you want to do business with me, but show you're too childish to handle even a small mistake, that again was fixed within a matter of hours, then we're not doing business.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Yeah, death threats on the internet are pretty damn stupid. Even if meant as a joke, it can be difficult to read the tone at times.

However, I can understand why this guy would be frustrated at Steam. Aside from this incident, I'm pretty sure these were the guys that got fucked over by Valve with something to do with Steam Greenlight.

I can understand why he kinda feels like Steam/Valve is out to get them, even if they're not.

 

[1Life0Continues]

Good.

The propensity for denizens of the internet to resort to death threats in recent times is appalling, and it's about time an enforceable punishment is meted out to those who commit them. In this case, he doesn't get his game (or any game he makes) on Steam. That's good, and hopefully serves as a message to others that no matter HOW angry you might be about something, it NEVER warrants a death threat...EVER.

More of this kind of thing.

 

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

Edit: So aparently he made a death threat tweet about Gabe Newell, which, while probably in jest, is what got him pulled and is something he REALLY shouldn't have done. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=915901

I'm confused by this. How exactly can a death threat of all things be done in jest, especially when you take the rest of the rest of his rant into context?

It sucks that he got jerked around by Valve, but that was not the way to go about it. I'm not surprised at all that Valve decided to cut ties with him.

 

[Panda Pandemic]

Lol the best way to not get an issue fixed promptly is to send death threats, even as a joke. I'd kind of limit those kinds of jokes to close friends and use over the top wording like "I'm going to crush you and devour your soul".

 

[StriderShinryu]

A certain level of frustration is totally understandable given how Valve dicked him around in the first place and then mislabelled his game upon final release. Of course, none of that makes his threats okay especially given how heightened the whole threats within the industry topic is right now. He may not be a bad guy and he probably didn't mean what he said but he should have known better and you can't be a professional anything if you're going to act like that.

 

[josemlopes]

So in the end there is nothing to see here, its sad that the game isnt there but just like in any other business if the guy that is working with you acts like a retard torwards your company you wont want to have anything to do with him.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

He didn't act in a professional manner, and threatened the head of the company that he sells his game through due to an error that they could have fixed.

I'm guessing he had contacted them before going in to a fit of rage, but still, allow them the time to fix the error, if they take too long then maybe kick up a fuss. Could have been a glitch in the Steam store, or an honest mistake, either way, he acted in such a way that any business would cut ties immediately. Do people not count to ten and calm down anymore.

 

[SquidVicious]

Good riddance, one email or phone call to your contact with Valve would have fixed it. Steam is a professional platform for marketing and selling your product, if you can't act in a professional manner then you don't deserve to use it.

Let it be an example that actions have consequences, even on the Internet.

 

[Ima Lemming]

On one hand, I understand that's a common, if excessive statement used to express frustration.

On the other, it's still damned tasteless and with the online gaming climate in the state it's right now the guy really should have thought twice before making a comment like that.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

The guy is a fucking moron, and because of his idiocy and shortsightedness his game has been pulled off Steam, effectively fucking over everyone who was looking forward to it and anyone else that worked on it (not sure if this was a solo project or an actual team effort). It's all warranted too. If you're going to give out death threats to people, much less a goddamn business partner, then of course the plug will be pulled.

Damn fool.

 

[PinkiePyro]

Yeah, death threats on the internet are pretty damn stupid. Even if meant as a joke, it can be difficult to read the tone at times.

pretty much this.. dude overreacted people and companies make errors at least give the issue a day before raging

 

[Rayce Archer]

Yay, a hideous blocks-for-no-reason roguelike that only comes in black and garishly spot-lit. Trash like this shouldn't even be on Steam in the first place. If only everyone who shovels this stuff on there would threaten Gaben maybe it would be easier to shop for real games.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

I'm not really bothered by the "death threat" (aka figure of speech) itself, but it is a pretty damned unprofessional way of going about things and I can't say I really blame Valve for their choice. They don't really care about the death threat either, it's all about the professional image and if they don't want to associate themselves with Maulbeck because of this then I can respect that from a business standpoint. I'd personally give the guy one last chance but that's just me.

 

[Verlander]

If there's a shop that stocks a chocolate bar, and the guy who makes the chocolate bar is a dick to the shop owner, is it unreasonable for the shop to stop stocking it? That's what this is, nothing more. Hopefully the dev appreciates his life lesson when he calms down a bit.

 

[Blacklight28]

Do all the people who bought the game still get to keep it?

I can understand the dev's anger, especially considering their incident with steam greenlight, but frankly he got what was coming to him. It really sucks for the other dev, though.

 

[QuintonMcLeod]

The game got pulled because the developer was an idiot. Why would you threaten the co-founder of Valve, and thus, the co-founder of Steam in a fit of rage over Twitter? DON'T VENT OVER TWITTER! EVER! Why can't people understand this very simple and yet very basic rule? Maybe back during the 90s when people didn't take the Internet seriously, it would've been OK. However, people are going to jail over the stuff they say over Facebook. People's feelings are more fragile than ever, and you can easily offend someone just by sneezing in public. So, why in the 9 tails would you vent over Twitter, let alone, threaten the co-founder of the platform you're trying to release your game on?? What an idiot.

 

[mad825]

If there's a shop that stocks a chocolate bar, and the guy who makes the chocolate bar is a dick to the shop owner, is it unreasonable for the shop to stop stocking it? That's what this is, nothing more. Hopefully the dev appreciates his life lesson when he calms down a bit.

Oh look, a food analogy.

Steam failed to provide a service and the guy who properly spent his own time and money getting this game up-to scratch is being screwed over. The guy is frustrated and venting while getting no response to which I empathise. Steam is being the dick thus far, they are quite happy to wait to resolve his problem but they are more than happy to deal with a problem straight away that they don't like.

At least in a real customer service job you try helping to solve the problem before you get rid of them. Steam are showing themselves off to be the typical fatcats by shitting on hard working people.