Another day and there’s another Epic Games Store timed exclusive. This time around Russ Bullock and Piranha Games’ MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, a PC game billed for Steam, has been delayed to December 10th of this year and snatched up by the Epic Games Store.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries has been delayed yet again. Back in 2017, the mech game was set to release in 2018 but then was pushed for a 2019 release. Well, it’s early to mid-2019 release is now set for Q4 2019.
The reason behind the delay? Well, according to mw5mercs.com it reads as follows:
Why is MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries an Epic Games store exclusive?
Partnering with Epic gave us the ability to delay our release to early December so that we could make the quality of game we desired as well as the financial footing to make sure MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries could be properly localized with a significant marketing effort.
We also feel very strongly about discoverability and believe that MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries has a greater chance of market success on the Epic Games store.
In summary: Money.
Moreover, Steam users will not get a key for this game as noted on the original purchase FAQ. However, said users are eligible for refunds, though:
“The original purchase FAQ mentioned a Steam key, can I still get a Steam key?
Unfortunately no, however, we are offering full refunds.”
Furthermore, there’s an issue worth bringing up. The problem at hand is mod support. As it stands now, the Epic Games Store does not support said feature, meaning that even if the game and the devs boasts such an ability — which Piranha Games has plans on doing so — if the launcher is void of any mod support, then all parties are left without mods.
In addition to the above, the dev team aims to bring modding tools to the community in early 2020, while the Epic Games Store plans to release modding support, including product-specific storefronts for mods in early 2020. However, there are basic features still missing from the storefront.
The following answer on mw5mercs.com suggests that mod support may not come during the early part of 2020 but sometime later if Piranha Games and the Epic Games Store past are any indications:
“Will the Epic Games store support modding like Steamworks?
We are fully committed to supporting mod making for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. Upon the game release, mod makers will be able to download the editor and everything they need to create full mods. Then early in 2020, we will integrate the end user experience for mod makers to share their creations with the community.
Epic Games store plans to release modding support, including product-specific storefronts for mods, in early 2020. For more information on current feature status, please visit the Epic Games store Roadmap: trello.com.”
If for some reason you are looking to play MechWarriors 5: Mercenaries, do know that it is slated to drop on December 10th, 2019, for PC via the Epic Games Store for one year before hitting Steam.
