There has been plenty of concern online that Epic Game was going around and gathering as many exclusive as they can for their PC launcher, the Epic Games Store. It looks like they just secured another anticipated title for a timed exclusive contract and that’s with Shenmue III. After years of waiting for a third installment to a franchise that many had just written off completely, the game for PC players will be exclusive on the Epic Games Store.
Announced during the PC Gaming Show during E3, Shenmue III was highlighted and confirmed that the Epic Games Store had acquired exclusivity though that has plenty of gamers upset. The developers did take to their Kickstarter campaign to explain the reason behind going with Epic Games Store. We already know that Epic Games Store offers a bigger cut of the money to those who go with the launcher compared to competitors like Steam. However, in the Kickstarter explanation, the developers were using Unreal Engine for the game development and they had built up a relationship with Epic Games in general. Likewise, it was discussed with the publisher behind the game, Deep Silver, who also felt that Epic Games Store would be a great distribution platform option.
We are happy to announce that Shenmue III for PC will be will be an Epic Games Store exclusive. Development for Shenmue III has been moving forward using Unreal Engine and the support we have received from Epic has been excellent. But most importantly, in looking for the most enjoyable experience on PC, it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option.
Kickstarter Campaign post
While the developers may make more money using Epic Games Store, we can see plenty of gamers demanding the title to launch on Steam instead especially after they had helped fund the game using online backing websites and services. At any rate, Shenmue III is launching on November 19, 2019, for both PC and PlayStation 4 platforms.
Source: Kickstarter, Gamerant