Epic Games To Issue Refunds To Those Upset For Shenmue III’s Timed Exclusivity

At this year’s E3, most announcements showcased at the respected events typically leaves fans excited for some of the biggest and most anticipated titles in the industry. But at the most recent PC Gaming Show, that was not the case for those who have been patient for Ys Net’s Shenmue III.

During the show, the Japanese developer alongside Epic Games announced that the game will be coming to PC, but through The Epic Games storefront rather than Steam for the first year. This resulted with a surge of initial backers insisting for a refund as they were unsatisfied with the decision made for how the game will be distributed on PC. Following with Ys Net responding that “refunds will not be granted for this change,” which only fueled the fire the spawned from the matter.

That is until today as Ys Net announced to be issuing refunds to those that don’t agree with the decision by the publisher. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney reveals this on Twitter along with disclosing some detail on what will play out for refunds and future titles that go down the same path for timed exclusives on the PC marketplace.

As Shenmue’s third installment initially came as a Kickstarted title that fans backed back in 2015, the initial vision is planned to be preserved by Epic Games as those who prefer to play on competing PC platforms will be receiving a full refund from the publisher. Sweeney shares that games in future reference that have been crowdfunded will be planned ahead to supply respected keys to other storefronts for the title’s respected launch; if not, a refund will be issued instead.

This plan does seem to at least meet in the middle for those upset by the decision as previously directing those who were unsatisfied with the game being exclusive on the Epic Games Store to either play the game on PlayStation 4, or wait the year until available on Steam.

As for how bakers can receive a refund from Epic Games has yet to be detailed, but information on such is expected to be announced in the approaching future. How do you plan on playing Shenmue III later this Fall?

Shenmue III will be out on November 19, 2019 for PlayStation 4 and The Epic Games Store.