As the year ticked over into 2019, two LEGO titles were quietly pulled from Steam and other digital retailers. These two games are the now dearly departed LEGO The Lord of the Rings and LEGO The Hobbit.

The removal of these two games was first spotted via Reddit user SuperMoonky. It looks as though these games still have their Steam Store pages intact, but they no longer show up when searching for them. Additionally, there is no option to purchase the games should you somehow end up on their pages.

There has been no official announcement from either WBIE or Traveller's Tales. It is assumed that the games were pulled due to a licensing issue. It's not at all uncommon with games these days. As you may recall, Alan Wake was pulled when the licensing expired for some songs that were used in the game. It took a bit, but Alan Wake did eventually return to retailers this past October.

However, there is no saying when or even if these games will go back on sale in the near future. If you already own the games, you are still free to re-download and play them without any issue. Additionally, if you picked up a free copy of LEGO The Hobbit last month during a Humble giveaway, you should probably activate those keys sooner rather than later. Those hoping to buy them may have to just keep waiting a little while longer.

I will add that it would be nice if publishers would inform fans if something like this is about to happen. Having games just up and disappear without warning is a bit of an annoyance and a bit worrisome from a consumer's perspective.

(via PC Gamer)