MechWarrior Glimmer of hope for Mechwarrior 5 Epic exclusive deal

I joined the MW5 AMA tonight. After listening to that conversation, I can now say with confidence there is but one last hope that pre-orders aren't completely fucked.

The VAST majority (like 90-95% I reckon) of the community that was there all agreed that PGI needs to honor the pre-orders with Steam Keys if requested. It might mean we have to wait a year until the Epic exclusive deal expires, but personally, that is something I can live with; to me it's no different than if the game release was just delayed a year. I don't care if Epic players get to play it before I do.

The good news is that there is a precedent of honoring keys to other stores that were put up for pre-order and then switched to Epic exclusive after-the-fact. Phoenix Point is one example: https://phoenixpoint.info/epicfaq

The AMA moderator got the message loud and clear that the vast majority of us want a Steam Key (GoG too if possible). You will have to choose your preferred store and you may have to wait a year for the Epic deal to run its course, but it's better than nothing.

He promised to bring that up with Russ and have an answer for us ASAP. Refund deadline is Sept. 1st. I'm going to hold out to see if we can still get Steam keys for our pre-orders. If not, then I am definitely cancelling. I've heard a lot of bad shit about the Epic store in the past 24 hrs (ie. various degrees of spyware depending who you ask, but still spyware all the same). There is absolutely NO CHANCE I am intsalling Epic Store on my computer.

 

I'm holding onto my preorder for the moment until there is word or the deadline is close then I'll definitely go for the refund before it is too late if there is no change.

 

Matt seemed pretty committed to getting an answer out to the community ASAP. I know many of us don't have nice things to say about PGI these days, but I've always had the impression they are at least "trying" to do right. I guess whether they succeed in this case we will find out soon enough.

For what it's worth, it sounds like what pushed them to take the Epic deal was they wanted to release a polished product and taking Epic's money would buy them that time. Can't argue with the logic even if I don't agree with it.

The deal breaker for me and my pre-order is whether or not I get a Steam key out of it. No fucking way I'm using Epic's store.

 

Make sure you read the OP carefully, everyone. There is still a *chance* we can get other (non-Epic) keys for our pre-orders. Refund deadline is Sept. 1st so there is still time to get a ruling from PGI. Should have an answer some time next week. Will post more info when we know for certain.

 

Me too. If I may offer some insight on that, it sounds like they had to make a very hard call. Make no mistake that they absolutely knew this was going to piss people off. Matt certainly gave the impression this was not their first option. That means one of two things. If you don't mind me applying Occam's Razor here, the most likely reason is they were short on cash and this was the only option they had to make sure MW5 made a proper release.

That being said, I 100% understand and respect anyone's decision to not support this game while it's an Epic exclusive. The nice thing about waiting for when it finally does come to Steam is that you will know exactly whether or not the game is worth it. Maybe consider getting it then (or when on sale). There will be plenty of time to decide later.

This is actually a really good point. There isn't really anything huge included with the pre-order besides a lot of goodies for MWO... the true value of which is in the eye of the beholder. I think I will hold out at least for the week just to see if Russ makes good on the Steam keys, but I guess I won't lose any sleep over canceling my pre-order if it comes to that.

 

I've already refunded. The best way to let a company know you don't like what they are doing, despite the reasons for doing them, is to vote with your wallet. IMO, this entire move was a mistake. Fuck, if they had asked the community for a bit of extra cash to help flesh out dev I would've gladly ponied up some more cash to help them out. But no, they went with probably one of the most reviled companies currently in the gaming industry, the only decision that would've been worse, IMO, is if they had sold out to EA.

So yeah, I'll wait for the Steam release, and maybe pick it up then(probably will, simply because fucking MW), but I'm not going to support this at all while they go Epic Exclusive for the time being.

 

Saw a posting that Matt talked more in general chat after the AMA that they would talk with the team and get confirmation about it coming to steam in a year as well as supplying those who keep their preorders with steam keys. I figure we should know one way or another in a few days. That said it is PGI so if the years of changed opinions from MWO is any indication nothing is set in stone no matter what is said at the time.

 

So here's the thing I struggle with. I don't disagree that it may be a sound business move for PGI, or for a lot of developers, to go with this kind of deal. ESPECIALLY if they are developing in Unreal Engine. A 70/30 split IS something that needs to be reassessed in this new digital distribution realm and the propaganda that Epic puts out about it IS compelling. HOWEVER, the reality of the Epic Game Store is shady as fuck and the feature set is absolute garbage and it is riddled with hackers stealing accounts. That's not to mention all of the rumors of other nefarious deeds.

What developers need to do is honor their commitments. I wasn't certain where PGI would land on that with MW5 after my experiences with MWO. I had held off on pre-ordering MW5 and this makes me more cautious about where the title may end up. I HOPE there will be another place to play the game in the future, once the exclusivity runs the course, and I hope it isn't a full year exclusive.