Deep Silver and Ys Net are reportedly denying refunds for Shenmue 3. This comes after hundreds of comments came piling into the Kickstarter update page asking for their money to be refunded after it was revealed that the game would be an Epic Games Store timed exclusive on PC for one year.
According to WCCF Tech, users requesting refunds for the crowdfunding contributions to Shenmue 3 are being denied.
In a letter to backers, the design team have stated…
“Thank you very much for contacting us.
“The launch was previously planned for distribution on Steam, however it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option. Shenmue 3 will be distributed through the Epic Games Store and will require the Epic Games Store Client to activate.
“We apologize for the sudden change in platform, however, refunds will not be granted for this change. We thank you for your support and look forward to delivering the Shenmue experience fans everywhere have been waiting so long for.
“Best Regards,
“The Shenmue III Team”
This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen this kind of response to pushback from backers of crowdfunded projects where the game turned into an Epic Games Store exclusive.
YouTuber TheQuartering went through a few other examples of games that were announced as Steam or GOG releases only to become Epic Games Store exclusives and the ill-treatment handed down to gamers in the caustic aftermath.
As pointed out in the video, Phoenix Point was another highly anticipated game that was crowdfunded but made into an Epic Games Exclusive at the last minute, causing a lot of people to become perturbed and seek refunds.
A lot of gamers had a lot of high hopes that Shenmue 3 would be a return to form for Yu Suzuki and the rest of the team at Ys Net without the corporate constraints of a publisher. However, after Deep Silver signed on to publish Shenmue 3, worries mounted that Deep Silver would do to that game what they did to Metro: Exodus, making it an Epic Games Store exclusive. It turns out that the worriers were right.
The good will of Ys Net has now been burned and gamers are already discussing legal action in the forums, the backer page, and on Reddit. Whether or not anything comes of it remains to be seen but sales for Shenmue 3 could be in serious jeopardy when it launches on PC and PS4 August 27th.
(Thanks for the news tip johntrine)
