EA explains why it removed Ultima and Syndicate titles from GOG

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, EA VP Chris Bruzzo explained the reason for the removal of classic titles Ultima Underworld 1+2, Syndicate Plus, and Syndicate Wars from GOG.

In June, EA asked GOG to remove the mentioned titles from its digital marketplace. However, EA noticed the complaints by many fans. The company later brought back the four titles back to GOG. The games are still available for free until September 3. After that date, the games will return to their regular price.

“When making decisions that affect players we take the time to review exactly what the potential impacts are and whether they serve the players best interests,” Bruzzo said. “When we delisted Syndicate and Ultima Underworld we missed that step and so didn’t fully consider the players perspective.”

“From the level of interest players showed in delisting these games, it was clear that people still wanted them to be available, so we did two things.

“The first was to ensure that going forward we have a process in place that considers the player perspective in listing decisions. The second was to relist the titles and make them available to as many people as possible with a month-long promotion.”

He completed his statement with: “We saw so much love for these titles, more than twenty years after they originally launched we realized that we had to make them available again.”

[Source]: GamesIndustry.biz: EA will consider “player perspective” when delisting titles after GOG misstep – [Archive].