Tweet
It's a hell of a day for hopeful MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries fans. We just learned that MechWarrior 5 has decided to drop Steam to be an Epic Games Store exclusive. The appeal of Epic's cash is apparently too tempting a mistress for the team at Piranha Games to pass up.
Not only is MechWarrior 5 an exclusive to the Epic Games Store, but the game is also delayed by a couple of months. This shift to the Epic Games Store now means that mod support is in question. At the very least, there will be no centralized location to download and install mods as there would be with Steam Workshop. Steam Workshop and full modding support were actually revealed as far back as December 2017.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries was originally slated to be released at some point in 2018. That date ended up getting pushed back until September 10, 2019. Now, MechWarrior 5 seems as though it won't be released until December 10, 2019. Assuming the game is just a one-year exclusive on the Epic Games Store, it will not hit other, more consumer friendly platforms until the end of 2020 at the earliest.
Fans that are rightfully upset by this change probably have just one thing on their mind: How can I get a refund? Fortunately, the devs are fully aware of how this move would upset their fans and included multiple answers in their FAQ about how you can get a refund for your order.
You can get a refund for any tier by September 1. Refunds will be issued in full if requested by this date. Of course, as they are placing a deadline of September 1 on refund requests, this means those that request a refund will not be able to participate in the closed beta that is planned for November. The closed beta is also going to be exclusive to the Epic Games Store.
If you want to talk to the developers directly about this, they are holding a couple of AMA sessions this week. The first one is tonight at 6PM (PT) on the community pre-order Discord (no link was provided). The second session is Friday, July 26 at 10AM (PT).
Additionally, here is Russ Bullock, the president of Piranha Games, straight up lying to fans and consumers just one week ago.
“Our partnership with the Epic Games store allows Piranha the opportunity to make sure MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries meets our internal goal of creating the best MechWarrior game possible,†said Russ Bullock, executive producer. “Since we announced the development of the first single-player MechWarrior game in 17 years, we have stated that our goal was to deliver to fans a MechWarrior: Mercenaries experience with true freedom of choice and to be able to share that experience in a coop setting.
Understandably some fans will be disappointed that they have to wait a short while longer for MechWarrior 5, but it’s important to Piranha Games that we absolutely get this right. We are happy to say that our new partnership with Epic Games store allows us the time and ability to accomplish our goals both in the games development and marketing efforts.â€
Fans looking to obtain refunds from their preorder of any tier are able to do so by September 1st. Preorder refunds of any tier will be refunded in full. Additionally, fans seeking refunds will be able to keep all bonus MechWarrior Online content from the Standard, Collector and Ultimate Editions of the preorder, which amount to $100, $180, and $300 dollars worth of in-game currency and content for MechWarrior Online including all bonus items like XP, premium time, badges, decals, cockpit items and more, depending on which preorder tier they purchased. Refunded preorders will be unable to participate in the upcoming closed beta for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, now scheduled for November as well as lose the exclusive MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries DLC items.
Understandably some fans will be disappointed that they have to wait a short while longer for MechWarrior 5, but it’s important to Piranha Games that we absolutely get this right. We are happy to say that our new partnership with Epic Games store allows us the time and ability to accomplish our goals both in the games development and marketing efforts.â€
Fans looking to obtain refunds from their preorder of any tier are able to do so by September 1st. Preorder refunds of any tier will be refunded in full. Additionally, fans seeking refunds will be able to keep all bonus MechWarrior Online content from the Standard, Collector and Ultimate Editions of the preorder, which amount to $100, $180, and $300 dollars worth of in-game currency and content for MechWarrior Online including all bonus items like XP, premium time, badges, decals, cockpit items and more, depending on which preorder tier they purchased. Refunded preorders will be unable to participate in the upcoming closed beta for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, now scheduled for November as well as lose the exclusive MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries DLC items.
