Shenmue 3 Will be an Epic Games Store Exclusive on PC
The developers of Shenmue 3 have unveiled a new trailer for the game. It features a training montage and a chase scene. It’s got all the charm of kung-fu movies of yore, down to the silly voice acting. Pretty good fun. Oh, and also, Shenmue 3 will be an Epic Games Store Exclusive on PC. I’m sure that’s not gonna cause any backlash.
So, uh… according to an update on the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter page: “We are happy to announce that Shenmue III for PC will be will be an Epic Games Store exclusive. Development for Shenmue III has been moving forward using Unreal Engine and the support we have received from Epic has been excellent. But most importantly, in looking for the most enjoyable experience on PC, it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option.”
Needless to say, this has caused an uproar among the Kickstarter backers. Many are demanding either a Steam key or a refund, or, in some cases, a switch over to the PS4 version. A bunch of people are saying that they’ve been “promised a Steam key,” which I can’t find any mention of Steam anywhere on the Kickstarter, so I have to take their word for it (UPDATE: Our diligent reader Tim has directed me to this Kickstarter survey, where the PC requirements list the Steam Client as necessary. However, this survey took place before the Epic Store launched). Not even a new trailer for E3 2019 has done anything to quell the anger. I mean, just look at the like-to-dislike ratio on the video. Don’t even dare to go into the comments, there be dragons, and they’re pissed.
As was announced a little while ago, the new release date of Shenmue 3 is November 19th, 2019. Right in the middle of an insane number of other games coming out at the same time. It’d better hope it has enough of a niche audience to pull this off. You’ll be able to play it on PlayStation 4 and PC, via the Epic Store; although, there have been some whispers about an Xbox version, but that remains to be seen.
