Alpha Protocol returns, complete with improvements and music rights

The ambitious, yet flawed Alpha protocol is for sale again. The 2010 game, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Sega, was removed from all platforms in 2019 after Sega’s music licensing rights expired. The game is making a comeback as a DRM-free exclusive on GOG.com, available today for $19.99, with an additional 10% launch discount running through April 3.

What’s available now is a definitive edition of sorts, which includes all the original music, as well as support for modern wireless controllers (including the DualSense, Switch Pro controller, and Xbox Series and 11 compatibility and cloud storage support. The game also includes achievements on GOG, which were previously only available on consoles. What this reissue is from Alpha protocol however, it is not a remaster. The visuals and core gameplay are unchanged. GOG.com made a mini-documentary about how the game came back, and I’ve embedded it at the top of the post.

Alpha protocolThe game’s return to an online game store is rare in the news cycle, especially in 2024, when you’re more likely to hear stories of the opposite. In early March, Warner Bros. surprised. Discovery, for example, hit indie developers with the news that games published under the Adult Swim Games label would be “retired.”

Polygon contacted Sega to see if it plans to release this updated version Alpha protocol to more platforms, but it did not respond in time for publication.