Not every game can make waves in the industry and attain a wide audience, but that hasn't stopped plenty of titles from gaining a cult following. From individual titles like Psychonauts that eventually garnered a sequel thanks to fan support to long running platformer franchises like Kao the Kangaroo, video games have produced plenty of cult classics over the years. They may not fully make it into the mainstream, but still manage to thrive due to an extremely dedicated, smaller community. Alice: Madness Returns is another game that falls under the cult classic category. However, many of its fans were confused and dismayed last week when it disappeared from Steam.The action platformer was removed without warning from the online distribution platform. This isn't the first time Alice: Madness Returns was removed from Steam, as back in 2016, the game was delisted from the store due to verification problems with its publisher EA. This year, the unique take on the Alice in Wonderland story was brought back to Steam, only to be removed again shortly afterward, causing concern among fans of the game and confusion from creator American McGee.McGee, who was the creator behind American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns, speculated on Twitter that the problem had arisen from someone pushing the wrong button. He later revealed that a member of his team had instructed Steam Support to "shut everything down." This problem stemmed from the team member believing that games like Alice: Madness Returns had moved to McGee's new company, Mysterious Inc.
Alice: Madness returns has made its way back to Steam after once again being quietly taken off the platform. Its predecessor, American McGee's Alice is still unavailable on Steam. Unlike Madness Returns, the original game was never purchasable on Steam, and it seems unlikely that it will ever be. McGee has also stated on Twitter that he doesn't know where fans can purchase the game. For gamers looking for an interesting hack-and-slash adventure in the Victorian Era, Alice: Madness Returns can provide that experience.
There were rumors of a third Alice game from American McGee, but the latest news regarding that title was that it was in the proposal stage, meaning that it could still be years before players can return to the unique Alice in Wonderland setting. For those looking for some more Alice content, it was announced in 2022 that there would be a TV series based on American McGee's Alice written by an X-Men writer.
Alice: Madness Returns is available to play on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.