Shenmue III will not have a Steam key option on launch for backers


Poor YS Net has upset some PC fans when they announced a few months ago at E3 2019 that Shenmue III would be Epic Store Exclusive. This lead to people getting upset that after the Kickstarter was done, the studio asked fans what PC service they would want keys on and most people said Steam; it seemed that the studio got a better deal from Epic Games Store.

YS Net has confirmed that there will be four versions of Shenmue III which includes the PlayStation 4 physical, digital and of course the same for PC. But for PC both physical and digital will come with Epic Game Store. But if you want the game on Steam, there will be an option for it if you select ‘delayed steam key’, which means you will have to wait about a year from launch to be able to play it. Yeah, this will obviously piss off backers, especially those that paid extra (100+) for a beta they never got! You can also change the platform to PlayStation 4 if you don’t want to deal with all this nonsense.

But don’t worry, if you are angry YS Net is allowing users to get refunds for Shenmue III backers that expected a Steam Key day one. They still don’t have a way of doing it and will update us on how to request a refund soon. Here is the statement after the jump:

Regarding the recently announced Epic Games Store exclusive, all of us here at YSNET, Deep Silver and Epic are taking the matter with utmost concern and would like to clarify the circumstances leading to the decision and offer backers options for moving forward.

As noted in the updates and survey at launch, we had originally planned for PC distribution through Steam. Taking publishing and sales considerations into account, YSNET and Deep Silver agreed to our partnership with Epic Games Store on PC version distribution. As a publishing partner, Deep Silver has greatly contributed not only to sales and marketing, but to scaling up the game so there is more Shenmue III to begin with. Also, Epic Games has been with us from the start of the project when we adopted Unreal Engine 4 for development, and have given us their support throughout the development process.

In response to backers who have requested Steam keys for their rewards, we discussed offering the keys on the day of release. However, coordination with the sales policies of the involved companies was untenable, and as a result we are not able to make a day one distribution option for Steam keys available.

That we are not able to offer Steam keys for Kickstarter rewards at the time of the game’s release is a great disappointed and inconvenience for those backers who were expecting to receive them. We deeply apologize for the unrest caused by the announcement.

I doubt that the Epic Store exclusive contract lets them ‘give out steam keys instead of Epic Game Store’ because the contract is about them hitting a certain number of sales. If they had a pre-order on Steam and you paid through Valve, then they’d HAVE to give you keys, but they never did that. What do you think?

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12 responses to “Shenmue III will not have a Steam key option on launch for backers

  1. Centrale says:

    The trial version was at the $100 level, not “200+” and last they said it is still on the way.

    I think any kind of exclusivity has serious drawbacks, but some of the people stoking this Steam backlash have gone way too far and I wish Epic all the best moving forward.

    • garpemji says:

      I’m glad we’ve reached a point where consumers, who are constantly getting screwed over by scummy multibillion dollar corporations, wish “all the best” to scummy multibillion dollar corporations.

    • Centrale says:

      Sure garpemji, let us all know when your outrage mob gets the lawsuit filed

    • garpemji says:

      Stating facts = being part of the outrage mob. Gotcha.

    • Centrale says:

      How’d you like it when Valve screwed over all those indie developers with their Steam Summer Sale game a few days ago and got so many thousands of people to drop indie games from their wishlists? Gotta stay loyal to your favorite brand though… it’s a big, big part of your self-esteem!

    • ikagura says:

      It’s unfortunate that Valve messed the communication with the latest sales (even tho they made it more clear about the wishlist) but it doesn’t make Epic more right for they marketting…

      It’s still unfair to those backers to announce the exclusivity after 4 years from the announcement

    • K says:

      it was a mistake and thats all it was people can spin it how they want to win the egs vs steam argument all they want 🤷‍♀️

    • garpemji says:

      Nice strawman, Centrale. I never claimed to even be registered on Steam but here you are, making huge leaps just to make yourself feel better. Keep wishing big corporations all the best, be it Valve, Epic, whoever, I’m sure they care about you, your rights and your privacy. I know Epic doesn’t and their owner, Tencent, doesn’t either. Stay deluded.

    • George says:

      You’re right, I updated it.

  2. tdixpix says:

    I think that the backlash isn’t proportionate to the infraction either. Hell, stretch goals were implemented even thought they weren’t paid for during the Kickstarter campaign – a convenient oversight of folks in the comments section. That, and if we were ever to see the numbers, I’d more than expect that Deep Silver and other contributions to the game were substantial.

    That said, changing the game plan as the end approached and the fact that it’s the Epic Store (which I’d rather not support) is certainly a poke in the eye.

  3. K says:

    to me it was a bit of a slap in the face and they havent been very transparent through out the campaign and to be fair after filling out the survey and the receipt i got from fangamer does say steam on it ill probably take my kickstarter version and choose epic and take the one i got from paypal and choose steam but either way this sucks

  4. Sestren Rk'D says:

    Although I pledged for the console version, I’m glad YSNet is at least trying to make amends for it, especially after how the various PR teams mishandled the backlash from backers. It’s not an ideal situation, but better than the whole “You should have read between the lines and we’re offering no refunds” apathy they originally pulled.

    But the fact that you have people backing this game hoping it bombs, that every team goes bankrupt and everyone involved loses their jobs is probably even more jarring, before and after they made this announcement. Upsetting, sure. Understandable. Worth threatening people? Give me a break.

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