At E3 2019, Deep Silver and Ys Net announced that the highly anticipated Shenmue 3 would be an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC. As many backers preferred Steam and backed the game years before the Epic Games Store existed, this decision angered many fans and made them want to refund their game. Unfortunately, Deep Silver and Ys Net were not allowing players to do so at the time, leading to even more backlash. Today, Ys Net clarified things in a new post on Kickstarter today, confirming that they will be taking refunds and more.

The post starts with Ys Net going into detail about the decision to be an Epic Games Store exclusive "As noted in the updates and survey at launch, we had originally planned for PC distribution through Steam. Taking publishing and sales considerations into account, Ys Net and Deep Silver agreed to our partnership with Epic Games Store on PC version distribution. As a publishing partner, Deep Silver has greatly contributed not only to sales and marketing, but to scaling up the game so there is more Shenmue III to begin with. Also, Epic Games has been with us from the start of the project when we adopted Unreal Engine 4 for development, and have given us their support throughout the development process."

Ys Net then reveal that they discussed giving Steam keys just to backers when the game launched, but those plans ultimately didn't pan out. "We discussed offering the keys on the day of release. However, coordination with the sales policies of the involved companies was untenable, and as a result we are not able to make a day one distribution option for Steam keys available. That we are not able to offer Steam keys for Kickstarter rewards at the time of the game’s release is a great disappointment and inconvenience for those backers who were expecting to receive them. We deeply apologize for the unrest caused by the announcement."

Ys Net confirms later on in the post that "we have agreed that should the above proposal not be acceptable to backers, refund requests will be honored." That being said, refunds won't be available until a future post, and Ys Net included the disclaimer that "in the case rewards within your reward tier, such as in-game content, have already been created and implemented, a full refund may not be possible." While it's unfortunate that some backers may lose money on Shenmue 3 due to a decision that's out of their control, Ys Net and Deep Silver do at least plan on offering refunds, unlike before.

Shenmue 3 releases for PC via the Epic Games Store and PS4 on November 19. If you did not back the game and want to pick it up on PS4, you can currently pre-order it on Amazon.