The game’s apparent relaunch follows closely behind the recent release of a trailer for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Deadpool movie, as seen at San Diego Comic-Con.
Developed by High Moon Studios, Activision’s Deadpool premiered in 2013 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC platforms. The first-ever game featuring Marvel’s wisecracking “merc with a mouth” in a starring role, Deadpool is a third-person shooter that makes frequent trips into fourth wall-breaking territory, poking fun at the video games industry and its dominant trends.
As soon as 2014 rolled around, though, digital versions of Deadpool were nowhere to be found. The game was delisted without prior warning or explanation from Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and Steam in January last year, and never resurfaced in the months afterward.
While players who purchased Deadpool during its brief window of availability were still able to redownload the game after the delisting, anyone seeking it out in 2014 had to track down a physical copy in order to get their Deadpool fix.
Several Marvel-licensed games disappeared from digital storefronts in early 2014, including Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, X-Men: The Official Game, X-Men: Destiny, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
To date, none of these games have resurfaced on digital platforms. X-Men: Destiny in particular is unlikely to ever be available for purchase in the future, given that the game was at the center of a lawsuit between developer Silicon Knights and Unreal Engine creator Epic Games. Silicon Knights was ordered to recall and destroy all unsold retail copies of X-Men: Destiny after a North Carolina court ruled in favor of Epic Games.
Currently, only the Steam version of Deadpool is restored and available for purchase. The game is still missing in action on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.
The Steam version of Deadpool is priced at $40.
