There were quite a few people who didn’t like Shenmue 3 for PC becoming an Epic Games Store exclusive. Fans who funded the project on Kickstarter were promised to receive a Steam code at launch, but the developers Ys Net struck a deal with Epic Games Store. Naturally, a portion of backers started to demand refunds… And their call was heard.
The announcement on the game’s Kickstarter page explained the situation stating that the initial plan for the game was to release it on Steam.
“We had originally planned for PC distribution through Steam. In response to backers who have requested Steam keys for their rewards, we discussed offering the keys on the day of release. However, coordination with the sales policies of the involved companies was untenable, and as a result, we are not able to make a day one distribution option for Steam keys available.”
Currently, backers of Shenmue 3 may select one out of four options to get their desired game:
– PC Physical: Package (Disc) ＋ EGS Key
– PC Digital: EGS Key
– PS4 Physical: Package (Disc)
– PS4 Digital: PSN Voucher Code
If the options provided don’t suit you, you may request a refund. However, this may not be instant. The post on Kickstarter explains:
“Along with Deep Silver and Epic Games, we have agreed that should the above proposal not be acceptable to backers, refund requests will be honored.
Details concerning the refund request process will be announced in the following update. We ask for your patience until that time.”
However, it seems like we have to thank Epic Games for the solution. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney went on Twitter explaining that all refunds will be made by Epic Games, so it wouldn’t reduce Ys Net’s development funds.
We don’t know about you guys, but we don’t really care which launcher we have to use in order to play the desired game. If the game is the same, does it really matter? Share your opinions in the comments.
