Capcom Removes GFWL from Lost Planet 2, Disabling Online Co-Op

Capcom has quietly released an update for Lost Planet 2 that removes support for Games for Windows Live (GFWL), effectively disabling online multiplayer features and erasing previously saved progress.

This change has come as a surprise to many fans of the Lost Planet series, especially considering the game's heavy reliance on multiplayer. As noted in our [ttpp]2010 review[/ttpp], Lost Planet 2 struggled as a solo experience: “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 data is disappointing, the removal of online functionality now makes the game even less viable—especially given its original design philosophy.

As one player noted on the [ttpp]Lost Planet subreddit[/ttpp], “The whole selling point of the series is co-op.” Another added sarcastically, “…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 Xbox achievements, online matchmaking, and cross-platform play. While it has long been deprecated, some older titles still relied on it, often causing login delays or compatibility issues. Gamers had hoped Capcom might address this with an update, though at 15 years old, that seems increasingly unlikely.

On the bright side, new players won’t be affected—at least not directly. Lost Planet 2 has been removed from sale on Steam, with Capcom posting a message 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 messages appearing on their respective Steam pages. However, some fans remain hopeful this is only temporary; when Capcom removed GFWL from Resident Evil 5, the team successfully transitioned to Steamworks-based multiplayer instead.

We’ve reached out to Capcom for comment and will update this article once we receive a response.

For what it’s worth, back in 2010, we found Lost Planet 2 to be a mixed experience—[ttpp]you can read our full thoughts here[/ttpp].