22cans has confirmed it is withdrawing Godus and Godus Wars from sale on Steam.
The studio – founded by Lionhead Studios’ Peter Molyneux – blames issues with a “technical change” coming to Amazon Web Services, saying that the change is “affecting [22cans’] ability to serve necessary game files to new users”.
The team stopped short of revealing when it would withdraw the games, but did assure current owners that “existing players can continue to enjoy these games without interruption”.
“22cans would like to share important news regarding our games, Godus and Godus Wars,” the team explained in a brief message posted to Steam (thanks, PC Gamer), the first update to be posted to Steam for almost seven years.
“Regrettably, due to an upcoming technical change to Amazon Web Services, affecting our ability to serve necessary game files to new users, these titles are to be withdrawn from the Steam store. Please be assured that existing players can continue to enjoy these games without interruption.
“We sincerely appreciate the incredible support from our players over the past decade and extend our heartfelt thanks to you all.”
Back when Godus Wars launched, Peter Molyneux told Eurogamer that the release paved the way for multiplayer, which would then lead to the God of Gods feature that, Molyneux promised, would feature Bryan Henderson, the winner of 22cans’ Curiosity: What’s Inside the Cube?
Godus Wars, which gave 22cans a short-lived cash injection, failed to make much of an impression on Steam after launch. At the time of writing, just four players are online, according to SteamDB, whilst 11 people are currently playing Godus.