X-COM spiritual successor Phoenix Point will be an Epic Games Store timed exclusive

[midian182]

What just happened? The Epic Games Store has again managed to secure an anticipated upcoming title as a timed platform exclusive. Phoenix Point, which comes from X-COM creator Julian Gollop, will only be available on Epic’s storefront during its first year of availability.

Like X-COM, Phoenix Point is a strategy game featuring turn-based tactics that sees humans trying to fend off an invading alien menace. The game raised $765,498 on its Fig crowdfunding campaign, smashing the $500,000 target.

Gollop has acknowledged that some people aren't happy about the Epic Games Store exclusivity, especially as Phoenix Point was supposed to arrive on Steam and GOG. And while that will eventually happen, it won't be until a year after release. Those who backed or preordered the game will get an Epic key when it launches and will receive a Steam/GOG key once the exclusivity period ends. Anyone who isn’t happy with the arrangement can receive a full refund.

As a reward for sticking with the game, backers and people who preordered before today will receive all of the first year’s paid DLC for free.

Phoenix Point’s developers said it took the exclusivity deal partly because it “gives us the freedom to commit to more Phoenix Point content once the game has been released.”

“While we are unable to go into details on the specifics of our agreement with Epic Games, we really do believe that it is in the best interests of our studio, Phoenix Point and our future titles. It gives us the security not only to continue to support Phoenix Point long into the future but also to bring you other exciting titles once Phoenix Point is completed.”

As was the case with Metro Exodus, many fans haven’t taken the news well. The Phoenix Point team will be hosting an AMA on the game’s subreddit at 12 pm PT/3 pm ET today, where you can expect things to get heated.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/79164-x-com-spiritual-successor-phoenix-point-epic-games.html

 

[Phyrino]

I am against all this exclusivity ****
I can accept that Epic has exclusivity on their own games, like Fortnight. Same for steam with CS, Origin with Battlefield and the list goes on. I don't like it, but I can accept it. It's their games.

But this is just bad for gamers in general. It is no competition, its monopoly. You don't compete with your competitors in providing a better service, you just buy the title and give the middle fingers to everyone.
The only way to compete with this, is if Steam starts to pay for their own exclusives.

The way the do it with these 12 months exclusive deals has nothing to do with that epic only takes 12%. That is another topic.

Luckily for me I got patience and a big backlog of games so waiting 12 months is no problem for me.

Personally I want everyone to wait 12 months to buy the game, then buy it wherever they like. Epic, Steam or wherever, I don't care. Just don't support this behavior .

 

[poohbear]

I am against all this exclusivity ****
I can accept that Epic has exclusivity on their own games, like Fortnight. Same for steam with CS, Origin with Battlefield and the list goes on. I don't like it, but I can accept it. It's their games.

But this is just bad for gamers in general. It is no competition, its monopoly. You don't compete with your competitors in providing a better service, you just buy the title and give the middle fingers to everyone.
The only way to compete with this, is if Steam starts to pay for their own exclusives.

The way the do it with these 12 months exclusive deals has nothing to do with that epic only takes 12%. That is another topic.

Luckily for me I got patience and a big backlog of games so waiting 12 months is no problem for me.

Personally I want everyone to wait 12 months to buy the game, then buy it wherever they like. Epic, Steam or wherever, I don't care. Just don't support this behavior .

Agreed. We all have backlogs of games. 1 year wait is nothing, then ill buy it on Steam.

 

[gamerdood]

I bought on the Epic Games Store because I wanna play it without waiting and I don't hold on to Steam for dear life like a lot of people I see on forums/threads nowadays... I buy games for the games, not the launcher features and that's coming from a dude who's been on Steam since 1.0 and who has over 2,000 games in his Steam library... I'll buy the DRM-free GOTY edition on GOG when the year is over (was originally supposed to launch there along with Steam before the news broke) because now I value true ownership of a game over any feature any launcher offers (or doesn't offer)... as long as I can still get the games in ONE place (my PC), I don't care

 

[Vrmithrax]

This one will be interesting to watch play out. There's a little bit of "bait and switch" going on, if the game was marketed as being made available on Steam and GoG during the crowdfunding campaign, and then they changed it all after the campaign was over and they got their money. I wonder if Epic games is going to need to watch themselves - making back alley deals for exclusivity that the developers "can't discuss" seems like a recipe for getting investigated for non-competitive practices.

Personally, I'd love it if a huge number of backers demanded refunds, just to deter this kind of yanking around the consumers.

 

[Capaill]

if the game was marketed as being made available on Steam and GoG during the crowdfunding campaign, and then they changed it all after the campaign was over and they got their money

I fully agree. It's one thing to add a new channel to the channels you promised to use. It's quite another to promise one thing, get the money and then change it to something completely different.

To those who say the channel doesn't matter, it does. Epic is a new store, untested and unproven. We don't know how it will handle refunds, we don't know how stable it will be, we don't know if they will suddenly change their policy or pricing structures or start banning players.

I purchased Exodus a few days ago and immediately ran into problems. Another user in Thailand was using my email address and it took me a while to create a new account (I immediately enabled 2FA). I then spent a long time trying to find a free username, as all my usual ones were already taken. I guess there are a load of fake Epic accounts created for Fortnite.

Another thing that galled me was the price. The game is 60 euro. That's almost $68. The game can be bought for $50 in the US because Epic said they would reduce the price as part of getting the exclusivity. But apparently that was only in the US. Secondly, how long would I have to wait for that price to be reduced? How often do Epic do sales? Perhaps they will keep it at full price for a full year, knowing that it cannot be sourced from anywhere else.

It's bad form, I'm not happy with it and I will be using the Epic Store as little as possible, in order to make them and the games developers change their ways. Or to make the developers demand more from Epic.

I also hope that a majority of backers to this game demand refunds.

 

[dualkelly]

I am against all this exclusivity ****
I can accept that Epic has exclusivity on their own games, like Fortnight. Same for steam with CS, Origin with Battlefield and the list goes on. I don't like it, but I can accept it. It's their games.

But this is just bad for gamers in general. It is no competition, its monopoly. You don't compete with your competitors in providing a better service, you just buy the title and give the middle fingers to everyone.
The only way to compete with this, is if Steam starts to pay for their own exclusives.

The way the do it with these 12 months exclusive deals has nothing to do with that epic only takes 12%. That is another topic.

Luckily for me I got patience and a big backlog of games so waiting 12 months is no problem for me.

Personally I want everyone to wait 12 months to buy the game, then buy it wherever they like. Epic, Steam or wherever, I don't care. Just don't support this behavior .

Agreed. We all have backlogs of games. 1 year wait is nothing, then ill buy it on Steam.

I still play terror from the deep this game can wait a few more years when its in the 9-3 dollar bin on some website for some Holliday sale.

 

[Evernessince]

Well hopefully people actually remember to buy the game. For me, if I'm not seeing it on steam I might end up not buying it at all simply because I don't follow gaming news. I'm certainly not going to open up the EPIC launcher to check everyday.

 

[pcnthuziast]

A life with nothing to complain about would leave some people feeling very empty and confused.

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

My bank account is also a time-limited exclusive. You either want to sell to me now at a place I would rather buy it (Steam), or you don't ever get the chance again. I don't care how cool you think your game is, it's never cool enough for me to bother, otherwise.

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

This one will be interesting to watch play out. There's a little bit of "bait and switch" going on, if the game was marketed as being made available on Steam and GoG during the crowdfunding campaign, and then they changed it all after the campaign was over and they got their money. I wonder if Epic games is going to need to watch themselves - making back alley deals for exclusivity that the developers "can't discuss" seems like a recipe for getting investigated for non-competitive practices.

Personally, I'd love it if a huge number of backers demanded refunds, just to deter this kind of yanking around the consumers.

Unfortunately, all they have to do is say that it will be on Steam and GOG. If this is a time-limited exlusive, they can easily make that happen. As for me, I won't be going onto any other stores than Steam, GOG or Origin. I've already banned UPlay and will not even consider EPIC, Windows, Mac App Store, or any other stores. 3 is already excessive for me. Steam for the fact that I already have a ton of games on it, despite never wanting to, Origin because I've invested in exclusive games on it already, and GOG.com because it's the best, most open option.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Unfortunately, all they have to do is say that it will be on Steam and GOG. If this is a time-limited exlusive, they can easily make that happen. As for me, I won't be going onto any other stores than Steam, GOG or Origin. I've already banned UPlay and will not even consider EPIC, Windows, Mac App Store, or any other stores. 3 is already excessive for me. Steam for the fact that I already have a ton of games on it, despite never wanting to, Origin because I've invested in exclusive games on it already, and GOG.com because it's the best, most open option.

Agreed, they won't have a problem making it happen. It's just a little questionable to run through a whole crowdfund campaign and then after it's done say "oh by the way, you will have to wait an extra year to play it on those platforms we said it would be supported."

And I'm going to have a hard time being convinced I should even use the Epic store. Just out of curiosity, I checked it out - somebody from Thailand has set up an account with my email address. Never verified, never questioned, just let them use my email address for the account. I'll have a really hard time trusting a platform that lax on any kind of security or account verification with my actual payment information.