So this E3 went pretty badly for Ys Net and Deep Silver. The duo announced, by way of Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki, that Shenmue III would be an Epic Store exclusive on PC, despite the fact that Kickstarter backers were expecting Steam keys. This meant that expectant Steam owners wouldn’t get their keys until a year after launch, and refunds were denied. As expected, the internet blew up like a powder keg.

Now, several weeks later, the developer/publishing team, which evidently were united on the deal, are backing down. As per the most recent Kickstarter update, there are now contingency plans in place for backers. Now the Epic deal is still going through, and Steam copies are still shipping in 2020, but there’s options, and one of them is a refund.

The full details are below, but the gist is that you can still get the game a year later on Steam (haha what), swap to PS4, or get a refund “if the proposals are not acceptable to backers.” That process “will be announced in a following update.” Some stretch goals in the initial campaign have also been changed, and you can find those alterations in the gallery below.

(Imagine a William Shatner voice here) Kickstarterrrrrrrrrrrr! Man some of these campaigns have had wild rides, and in the end I’m glad this one is at least offering refunds. If they had stood their ground it would have tanked the reputation of both organizations. Deep Silver has been trigger happy with this sort of thing already.

Update On PC Version Rewards [Kickstarter]

After massive Shenmue III Epic exclusive Kickstarter backlash, Ys Net and Deep Silver are allowing PC refunds screenshot

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Source: Destructoid After massive Shenmue III Epic exclusive Kickstarter backlash, Ys Net and Deep Silver are allowing PC refunds