I think if they didn’t pull it off steam, it would have been deleted regardless. Steam deleted games with way less controversy than this.
The point about principle is valid if the developer stopped publishing completely or apologized or whatever, but they did not.
The game served its purpose on steam, removing it by the developers was the right move. Now more people can enjoy it without the craze of steam, and even the developers can have better profit out of steam. Just because of this game i’ve learned about itch and other platforms. It’s win situation for everyone involved minus the radical karens and their puppets.