After nearly four years of being delisted from Steam, Capcom has finally addressed the long-standing Games for Windows Live issues plaguing Lost Planet 2. However, the company's solution has created new problems that may be worse than the original technical difficulties, leaving players questioning whether this constitutes genuine progress.
The Long-Awaited Update Arrives with Unintended Consequences
Lost Planet 2 received an unexpected Steam update that successfully removed the deprecated Games for Windows Live integration that had rendered the game unplayable for many users since 2021. Microsoft's GFWL service, launched in 2007 as an early attempt to bridge Xbox Live functionality to PC gaming, had become a notorious source of frustration for players. The service's clunky interface and deteriorating functionality led to widespread abandonment by developers and publishers, with Microsoft officially deprecating support in 2013.
Critical Functionality Lost in Translation
The removal of GFWL came at a steep price for Lost Planet 2 players. The update eliminated online multiplayer functionality entirely, transforming what was fundamentally designed as a cooperative multiplayer experience into a broken single-player game. This change is particularly devastating given that Lost Planet 2 was specifically criticized in reviews for being basically unplayable as a single-player game and praised primarily for its cooperative gameplay elements.
 |
|---|
| An intense encounter with a dragon-like creature in Lost Planet 2's multiplayer mode, which has now been rendered unplayable after the update |
Save Data Destruction Compounds Player Frustration
Beyond the multiplayer functionality loss, the update wiped out all existing save files for players who had the game installed. This data destruction has forced dedicated fans to seek alternative solutions, with some players voluntarily downgrading their installations to restore GFWL functionality and recover their online multiplayer capabilities. The ironic situation has players actively reinstalling the problematic service that Capcom worked years to remove.
Broader Impact on Capcom's Legacy Catalog
Lost Planet 2 is not the only Capcom title affected by this GFWL remediation effort. Street Fighter x Tekken and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City have also been temporarily removed from Steam with similar technical issues. However, there is precedent for more successful transitions, as Capcom previously managed to replace GFWL with Steamworks multiplayer functionality in other Resident Evil titles.
Community Response and Future Prospects
The gaming community's reaction has been mixed, with some players expressing cautious optimism that this represents an intermediate step toward a more comprehensive solution. The fact that Lost Planet 2 remains unavailable for purchase on Steam suggests that Capcom may still be working on implementing proper Steamworks integration to restore multiplayer functionality. However, given that the game is now 15 years old, the economic incentive for such extensive development work remains questionable.
Technical Challenges of Legacy Game Preservation
This situation highlights the broader challenges facing digital game preservation as online services evolve and become obsolete. Games that integrated deeply with deprecated platforms like GFWL face an uncertain future, requiring significant development investment to maintain functionality. The Lost Planet 2 case demonstrates how well-intentioned updates can sometimes create more problems than they solve, particularly when dealing with complex legacy integrations that affect core gameplay systems.