Not only has the game's listing disappeared from both GameStop.com and retail store databases, an anonymous source claiming knowledge of the situation has told Kotaku this sudden turn of events stems from Dawn of War 2's close relationship with Steam. Kotaku also reports that Steam will apparently be a required install for Dawn of War 2 players. As you'd imagine, that's something GameStop wouldn't care for as it increases the number of potential customers who would then be able to turn to Steam for their PC game buying needs rather than heading to GameStop.

There has yet to be any response from the parties involved, but we'll be keeping track of this story and updating you with the latest. Needless to say, this is an extremely bizarre situation that -- if true -- could pave the way for a giant rift in the relationship between publishers and retail.With the multiplayer beta of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 underway and the potential for both free and premium downloadable content in the first few weeks of the game's release -- now slated for February 19 -- it's a good time to be a Dawn of War fan. But if you've got a preorder for the game at GameStop, you might be in for some trouble.