GOG has pulled Hitman: Game of the Year Edition from sale after its use of DRM sparked a community backlash.

The digital storefront, which claims to be the place to shop for "DRM-free games," caused a stir last month when it released Hitman despite it requiring an internet connection to access certain single-player features like Escalation missions and Elusive Targets.

GOG users reacted by calling out the company and review bombing the title. In response, GOG said it would look into the matter and warned users about their conduct, but has now chosen to delist the title just a few weeks later.

"Today we have removed Hitman GOTY from GOG's catalog -- we shouldn’t have released it in its current form, as you've pointed out," said a company spokesperson on the GOG forum.

"We'd like to apologize for the confusion and anger generated by this situation. We've let you down and we'd like to thank you for bringing this topic to us -- while it was honest to the bone, it shows how passionate you are towards GOG. We appreciate your feedback and will continue our efforts to improve our communication with you."

GOG said it remains "in dialogue" with Hitman developer IO Interactive about the release, although it's unclear whether those discussions are with a view to relisting the game at some point in the future