Earth Defense Force 6 players are not happy with developer SANDLOT and publisher D3PUBLISHER requiring an Epic Games Account in order to play the game online and are expressing their displeasure by giving the game negative reviews.
A screenshot from Earth Defense Force 6 (2024), SANDLOT
For those unfamiliar with Earth Defense Force 6, it is a third-person shooter that puts players in the role of an Earth Defense Force (EDF) soldier to defend the Earth from various alien forms that are attacking it.
The official story synopsis states, “The year is 2024 AD. Mankind has won the long battle against the unknown invaders. The enemy Primers are now gone and peace has returned to Mother Earth. However, the population has shrunk to 10% and the world was on the verge of collapse. The survivors fought against the remaining threats while trying their best to continue their recovery. Three years passed in the year 2027. In a new world without hope, the time has come to once again resist the fate of the Earth.”
The game has an online co-op mode, but in order to access it players are required to link an Epic Games account to their Steam account.
A screenshot from Earth Defense Force 6 (2024), SANDLOT
And players are not happy about it. Currently, only 29% of all reviews for the game are positive. The “Most Helpful Review” in the past day from Myriad states, “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.”
Myriad 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
As noted by Myriad the Epic Games link requirement is now on the game’s Steam store front.
A screenshot of the Steam storefront for Earth Defense Force 6 (2024), SANDLOT
However, an archive link confirms this requirement was not on the storefront when the game released.
A screenshot of the Steam storefront for Earth Defense Force 6 (2024), SANDLOT
Another top rated review states, “Requires 3rd party account (Epic Games Store) and does not list it on the store page. (Edit) At the time I posted this the EGS Account requirement for online play hadn’t been listed, despite the fact it is now I cannot and will not support this.”
Dustfire’s review of Earth Defense Force 6 on Steam
READ: Sony Backs Down On PlayStation Network Account Linking Being Required To Play ‘Helldivers 2’
>Demi+Naga< also posted, “Now I know people are gonna bring up the obvious issue (Aka requiring to install F***ing Epic). But here is some other ACTUAL issues as well: Game actually looks worse than EDF4, Game is Locked at 60fps, Game has constant pop-in issues, Game has Extremely slow loading screens, even on an SSD, for “Offline” missions, the tutorial is unnecessarily slow and extremely boring, UI is unscaleable and is unnecessarily large even on a 2k monitor, screen tearing is constant and there is no V-sync option, there is no option to skip forced dialogues, basically no accessibility options at all for subtitle size or colorblind options, there is no control tutorial for other classes with special functions like Air Raiders, Fencers, or Wing divers, game still has major stuttering and lag issues even on high powered rigs like mine when there are too many effects/gibs/etc.”
He added, “There’s probably more but I only have a little over an hour at the time I typing and I’m honestly debating on refunding. This Game was already available in japan since 2022 and has had 2 whole years to patch or correct the technical issues. This lackluster level of quality released to the rest of the globe is absolutely unacceptable, especially at the price of $60. I’m gonna wait a day to see if they at least patch the technical issues and if they don’t well I guess I’ll have $60 back in my steam wallet. Honestly, it’s a damn shame. I love EDF but this is a complete disappointment.”
>Demi+Naga<‘s review of Earth Defense Force 6 on Steam
Ed Koon also added, “Two games work perfectly fine with Steam Servers to this day and now this here comes around and thinks it deserves an Epic Online Account to be playable despite not even telling so on the Store Page. ♥♥♥♥ right off. Epic is Earths real enemy. Air Raiders brace for review bombing.”
Ed Koon’s review of Earth Defense Force 6 on Steam
D3PUBLISHER issued a statement regarding the account linking requirement to Epic Games. It states, “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
It’s unlikely that this statement will appears gamers who feel they were lied to and bamboozled.
What do you make of Earth Defense Force 6 players bashing the game for requiring an Epic Games account to play online?
