Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics removed from GOG.com’s digital catalog

Before ringing in the New Year, GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) had some unfortunate news for PC gamer: the three classic Fallout games — Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics — had to be pulled from the digital catalog.

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, we needed to pull the three classic Fallout games, that is Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics, from sale and remove them from our DRM-free catalog," GOG said in a statement.

"These classic titles have been with us since day one, that is for over 5 years now, and they were always one of the highlights of the selection of games that we offer. There are very few titles in the history of computer role-playing games, that have had so much impact on the gaming landscape, players' expectations, and even the popular culture. The iconic setting, the memorable quotes, and unparalleled amount of fun and challenge these games provide–it's all burned in the memory of a whole generation of gamers."

While GOG was cryptic in its reasoning behind the games' removal, this is actually the result of a two-year legal battle that sees the classic RPGs now fully owned by Bethesda.

The good news is that anyone who owned these games on GOG.com prior to the removal date (Dec. 31 3:59pm GMT) will still be able to download the games' install files and bonus content as well. Gift codes for these games, however, are no longer valid. In mid-December GOG.com hosted a 48-hour promotion that gave away all three titles for free.