In a development update to the Piranha Games website, the developer has revealed that MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries will be an Epic Store exclusive. The game will now launch on December 10th, exclusively through the Epic Store. People with access to the Closed Beta will be able to play practice missions in November. “Our partnership with Epic Games store allows us the opportunity to make sure MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries meets our internal goal of creating the best MechWarrior game possible,” the statement reads.
If you are less than impressed with the Epic Store, at least the good news is that refunds are being offered. Anyone who pre-ordered the game can simply request a full refund. Better yet, you can do so without losing access to the MechWarrior Online related bonuses.
Fans looking to obtain refunds from their pre-order of any tier are able to do so by September 1st. Pre-order refunds of any tier will be refunded in full. Additionally, those seeking refunds will be able to keep all bonus MechWarrior Online content from the Standard, Collector and Ultimate Editions of the pre-order, 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 pre-order tier purchased.
While this is obviously not ideal for a lot of MechWarrior fans out there, it does at least show some understanding from Piranha Games. Not everyone is happy with how Epic has approached their store. Many people don’t want to support the store in any way at all. As such, having the option to not play your game on it is a good thing, even if it means not playing the game at all. Overall, it’s not a nice situation, but it has been handled better than other similar moves in recent times.