A game is delisted. Can you still play it?

Removal from sale is one layer

Valve’s retirement guidance says previously acquired games remain in players’ libraries. It separately asks whether required servers or services will become unavailable. Removing a product from Steam ↗

That distinction is the starting point for reading a delisting notice. A publisher can stop new sales while continuing to support existing players. A service shutdown can affect the experience even if you already have the game installed.

Read the announcement with four questions

1. Sale: When and where will new purchases stop?
2. Library: What does the notice say about existing owners?
3. Services: Which online or authentication functions will end?
4. Version: Is there an update or offline mode, and has it actually been released?

Keep the publisher’s exact dates and affected platforms with your notes. If an announcement only answers the sale question, leave the others unresolved. Silence about an offline mode is not confirmation that one exists.

Availability and preservation are different goals

The ability to download a current version does not establish that every previous build, multiplayer environment, or user-created dependency has been preserved. For a historical investigation, record which version you need and what the experience depended on.

We begin with a general reference rather than a large game-by-game database. An individual preservation record needs a publisher announcement, dated access evidence, and a maintenance plan. That is how a useful record stays distinguishable from an old rumor.