One of my most anticipated titles of the year, Mechwarrior 5, has just announced that it will now be an Epic Games Store exclusive release. It has also been announced that the game will be delayed from its original September 10 release date to December 10. The good news is that a beta will be happening beginning November 5 to let all of us who have eagerly awaiting the game a chance to play!
“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. 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.
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.”
I seem to be in the vast minority by not caring about Epic Games Store exclusivity. It let’s developers get a bigger cut of the profits and that means more money for future projects. It’s also not like you have to go out and buy another $400 console to play something… Regardless, Mechwarrior 5 looks amazing and I can’t wait to play it when it releases this December!
