We figured it out! The Steam version of LSL is licensed from Codemasters, which was recently purchased by EA, who maybe chose not to renew the licenseThe GOG versions are staying up, at least! But as with so many of these cases, it boils down to "rights nightmare"
— Phil Salvador (@philsalv.bsky.social) 2025-04-30T22:01:32.287Z
The first seven Leisure Suit Larry games are being delisted from Steam
It’s been suggested that EA may be involved in the decision
The first seven games in the Leisure Suit Larry series of adult-themed comedy adventures are being delisted from Steam.
In a message posted on the game’s Steam page, it was announced that the six Sierra On-Line titles Leisure Suit Larry 1-7 (there was never a fourth game) and High Voltage Software’s Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude are all being removed from Valve‘s digital storefront.
“Dear Larry fans”, the statement reads. “After decades of questionable pickup lines and unforgettable adventures, it’s finally time for Larry to hang up his leisure suit – at least the retro version of it.”
It then lists the following game as soon being “no longer available for purchase”:
- Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
- Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)
- Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals
- Leisure Suit Larry 5: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work
- Leisure Suit Larry 6 – Shape Up Or Slip Out
- Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail
- Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Uncut and Uncensored
The statement notes that players who already own any of the above games will still be able to play them after they’ve been delisted. It also notes that the two most recent games in the series – Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry and Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice – will still be available to purchase.
While publisher Assemble Entertainment didn’t explain why the games were being removed from Steam, Video Game History Foundation library director Phil Salvador suggested on Bluesky that the issue may lie with Electronic Arts.
Salvador noted an old message on Steam from 2018 where an Assemble staff member stated that the Leisure Suit Larry IP was owned by Codemasters, and had been licensed out to Assemble Games for exclusive online distribution rights.
Since Electronic Arts now owns Codemasters, it could be that the publisher has ended this licensing deal, meaning Assemble Games has to delist the games from sale.
This would also explain why the series is still available on GOG, because the 2018 message states that the licensing deal with Assemble doesn’t include publishing on GOG.
Codemasters also stated on Wednesday that it was stopping development on future rally games following the end of its World Rally Championship partnership, ending a decades-long run which started with the first Colin McRae game in 1998.
Earlier this week, EA reportedly announced layoffs of up to 400 workers, though it’s not yet been made official whether Codemasters was affected by these cuts.
