Capcom has quietly updated Lost Planet 2 to remove Games for Windows Live (GFWL), effectively disabling online functionality and erasing previously stored save data.
This change has come as a surprise to fans, particularly those in the Lost Planet community on the subreddit, especially since Lost Planet 2 is heavily centered around multiplayer gameplay. As noted in our 2010 review: “At its core it's a potentially great action game and it's very good-looking, but it explains itself so incredibly poorly and has such an awkward structure and poor checkpointing that a lot of the fun is ruined by interminable frustration — not to mention the fact that it's basically unplayable as a single-player game. It has a few genuine standout moments, especially on the rare occasions that everything works in co-op, but they don't balance out the faults.”
While the loss of saved progress is frustrating enough, the observation that the game is "basically unplayable as a single-player game" now becomes even more relevant. Without GFWL support, a core element of the game’s design has been stripped away.
As one player said, “The whole selling point of the series is co-op.” Another fan reacted with disbelief: “...they got rid of the online functionality in a game that is intended to be played in online co-op?”
GFWL was Microsoft’s online gaming service, offering features like Xbox achievements, online play, and cross-platform multiplayer. However, the platform has long been deprecated, leaving players of GFWL-dependent games to either deal with slow login processes or hope for a developer update. While some fans are optimistic, it's unlikely Capcom will invest resources into updating a game that's now over 14 years old.On the bright side, this issue won’t affect new players—Lost Planet 2 has been removed from sale. Capcom has posted a message on the Steam storefront page explaining: “We are aware of an issue that some customers may be experiencing during game installation which is related to Games for Windows LIVE. We are temporarily disabling the purchase option on Steam while we investigate the matter further. We will keep you informed of the progress of the investigation. Thank you for your patience.”
Other Capcom titles like Street Fighter x Tekken and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City have also been impacted, with similar notices appearing on their Steam pages. Some fans remain hopeful this is only a temporary setback; when Capcom removed GFWL from Resident Evil, internal teams reportedly replaced it with Steamworks-based multiplayer.
We’ve reached out to Capcom for comment and will share updates as they become available.
Back in 2010, we considered Lost Planet 2 to be “okay” at launch—read our full review here.
