Following a massive backlash which resulted in numerous negative reviews, the developers of Earth Defense Force 6 announced they are “planning changes” to their requirement to link an Epic Games account in order to play online.
A screenshot from Earth Defense Force 6 (2024), SANDLOT
Following the game’s release players discovered that the game required that an Epic Games account be linked to their Steam account in order to access the game’s online multiplayer mode, and they were not happy about it.
Only 29% of all reviews for the game were positive and numerous individuals indicated that the requirement to link an Epic Games account was not originally published on Steam. In fact, an archive link confirmed it was not listed on the storefront when the game released.
A screenshot of the Steam storefront for Earth Defense Force 6 (2024), SANDLOT
READ: ‘Earth Defense Force 6’ Players Bash Game For Requiring Epic Games Account To Play Online
The “Most Helpful Review” from Myriad noted, “Requires a third party account with Epic Games to play online with friends, even if you only play with people who are solely on the Steam platform. There is no indication anywhere on the Steam page that this was the case before purchasing and is definitely a shady, potentially illegal business practice.”
The user added, “Considering that NONE of the previous titles ever required this, it boggles my mind as to why they thought this would fly, especially on a competitor platform. Edit: As of around 0600 (UTC -6), the Steam store front was updated (almost six hours after the game was officially released) to reflect the requirement of needing a third-party account.”
Myriad’s review of Earth Defense Force 6 on Steam
The game’s publisher, D3PUBLISHER, would initially address the requirement to link an Epic Games account writing, “For this game, to enhance cross play and online functionality, Online play requires signing in to your Epic Games account. We apologize for the lack of advance notice.”
The company added, “Signing in to your Epic Games account is required the first time you play online. Usually, once you sign in for the first time, you will not need to sign in again. You can sign in to your Epic Games account or register for an account from within the game app. Or you can create an account in advance and sign in.”
Earth Defense Force 6 publisher response to Epic Games account requirement
Now, in a statement, the publisher wrote, “The EDF6 development team for Steam is reviewing and planning changes to the specification that requires sign in to Epic Games account, which has received the most feedback.”
“At this time, we are unable to provide specifics on how much time this will take, but we will continue to work on it as we address the feedback we have received,” it concluded.
Earth Defense Force 6 publisher response to Epic Games account requirement
Gamers appear to be taking this statement as a win as the reviews are trending upward. According to SteamDB 46.9% of all reviews are now positive and over the past two days there have been more positive reviews than negative reviews.
Earth Defense Force 6 Steam Reviews via SteamdDB
Furthermore, the game’s player base appears to be very healthy. In the last 24 hours the game hit its peak concurrent players of 18,641. As of writing the game has 12,240 players in-game.
Earth Defense Force 6 concurrent player chart via SteamdDB
What do you make of this statement that changes are coming to the requirement to link an Epic Games account?
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