During the E3 2019, Ys Net and Deep Silver have announced that Shenmue III would be an Epic Games Store exclusives on PC. Many fans were expecting Steam keys as a result of the game’s Kickstarter campaign, and the publisher’s decision would either mean an EGS key or a year of waiting after the game’s launch date. Needless to say, the backers were displeased and rightfully demanded refunds – and were denied. After the situation blew up, the developers said that they were listening to the backers’ concerns, but no course of action was outlined.
Now, several weeks after the ordeal, the game’s Kickstarter page has been updated with the reveal that the developer and publisher would be unable to deliver Steam keys on the day of release. However, “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.”
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stepped in to inform the community that Ys Net would not have to take the hit for the refunds:
When future games go Epic-exclusive after offering crowdfunding rewards on other PC stores, we’ll either coordinate with colleagues at the other stores to ensure key availability in advance, or guarantee refunds at announcement time.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) 2 July 2019
