Team 17

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Team 17 Digital Limited (Team17) is a British video game developer and publisher based in Wakefield, England. The venture was created in December 1990 through the merger of British publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish developer Team 7. At the time, the two companies consisted of and were led by Michael Robinson, Martyn Brown and Debbie Bestwick, and Andreas Tadic, Rico Holmes and Peter Tuleby, respectively. Bestwick later became Team17's chief executive officer until 1 January 2024. After their first game, Full Contact (1991) for the Amiga, the studio followed up with multiple number-one releases on that platform and saw major success with Andy Davidson's Worms in 1995, the resulting franchise of which still remains as the company's primary development out, having developed over 20 entries in it.

Team 17

Basic information
Founded	1990
Type	Public
Industry	Video Games
Official website	https://www.team17.com/

The Escapists controversy

Recently Team 17 purposely deleted the game "The Escapists" off of the Google Play store stating that it was not supported by modern devices. The game can no longer be re-downloaded on newer devices even if it was previously bought at the game's listed price ($5.99). The stated motive was as follows: "Unfortunately, this title is not updated nor supported on more recent tech", however this is not true as games delisted long ago like Flappy Bird are still downloadable from your purchase history even if you have an old Android device that should support it. The game is still fully functional if the APK file is sideloaded onto Android 12.

Email Chain Between Team 17

Team 17

Thanks for reaching out and sorry to hear you are having this issue.

Could you please let me know what error you are getting and if is possible to please provide us with a screenshot of the error as this will help us understand the problem better.

We will remain pending on your response.

Customer

I cant find the game I brought on the google play store anymore I even went to your website for the escapeistss and clicked the android icon and it jusst lead me to a dead link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.team17.escapists&hl=en_GB with no way to redownload the game it has totaly vannished from the play store I hope you can get the app restored

Team 17

Hey there,

Thanks for contacting us! Thanks for getting in touch with us about The Escapists.

Unfortunately, this title is not updated nor supported on more recent technology devices.

We have shared your feedback however with the team for consideration.

Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause in the meantime.

Regards,

Team17 Support"

Customer

Then can I request a Refund as I cant play the game on anything anymore not even my old tablet. It is a massive shame that the game is not available anymore as I really enjoyed it but I am wondering if it can be updated or I can get a refund as I can not download or play it anymore.

Team 17

Hi ,

Thank you for your reply.

We are sorry to inform you that we are unable to facilitate a refund for your purchase as the game was bought through a third-party retailer. Unfortunately, we do not have access to the payment processing tools or account details of third-party retailers, which prevents us from issuing refunds from our end.

If you made the purchase directly through the Google Play Store, we recommend contacting them directly to request a refund. You can initiate this process by visiting the following link: https://support.google.com/googleplay/workflow/9813244?hl

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding in this matter. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.

Regards,

Team17 Support

Customer

I contacted google and they said the developer "You" had removed the game I would ask you put it backup as I really loved the game and really want to play it again I also paid $5 for it I am wondering if there are plans to put the game back up on the play store as I think it is imoral to take a game that people paid for off the store so people cant play it anymore. I hope my beloved escapists is returned to me.

Team 17

Hi again ,

Thank you for you interest in The Escapist.

Unfortunately, due to the time elapsed since the game was launched, we don't have any dedicated active development teams available.

That said, we do apologise that you have encountered this problem and we do appreciate the effort that you have made to provide us with this now recorded information as we may use it to revise and resume development in the future.

Please don't hesitate to reach out in the future should you have any further queries.

Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause in the meantime.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Regards,

Team17 Support

Customer

if you decided to take it off of the play store why is it still on the apple app store and also why take it off the store. I contacted google and they said you requested them to take it off the store. also I should note it says on the escapists page of your website Purchase from google play but it just leads to a dead link. So why is the option to buy still there

Team 17

Hi again ,

Thank you for your reply.

Regarding your question, as it was mentioned, the game is not 'taken' off the store it just isn't supported for newer devices, if you had an older device still it would work.

Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause in the meantime.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Coustmer

That is not the case I have a old phone that I brought it is from 2017 and is running android 6.0 of my and the escapists does not show up in my purchases I also clicked the link to get it on Google play and it gives me a error so there is no way to redownload it I really want to play the game again. I am wondering if the game can be put back on the store so I can download it ok this phone and play it, also I get the same error on the phone as on my new phone

Team 17

Hi ,

Thank you for your reply.

As mentioned, this has been shared with the team to look into further.

The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout is on the store should you wish to look at this title, however unfortunately the same issue may occur on a newer device: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=the%20escapists&c=apps&gl=UK

Unfortunately, we're unable to offer any further support for your enquiry at this point, we have shared your report with the team and added the information provided to our file.

Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause in the meantime.

Regards,

Team17 Support