Earth Defense Force 6 launched for PC, PS4, and PS5 this week, and the Steam version has been criticized for requiring a login to the Epic Games Store to play online. But game developers are already exploring changing this controversial requirement.
The announcement seemed to come out of nowhere, as Epic’s requirements weren’t revealed to players until the developer in a Steam post on launch day. Of course, gamers weren’t excited about it, and according to Gamesradar, review status following the game’s release was “mostly negative.”
Developer Sandlot responded to the backlash with a new post on Steam, saying: “Steam’s EDF 6 development team is reviewing and planning to change the specification that requires logging into an Epic Games account, which has received the most feedback. “
The studio didn’t provide a timeline or what will change, but the team is working on solutions now. As of now, Earth Defense Force 6’s review status on Steam is in a slightly better “mixed” state. Steam’s Epic requirements for games are unusual, but not unprecedented. Another game, Bigfoot, previously required an Epic account on Steam, but it was later removed.
Earth Defense Force 6 is the latest entry in the series, where players slay giant alien bugs and creatures bent on destroying the planet. The game has been compared to Helldiver and Starship Troopers: Extinction. Coincidentally, Hellraiser 2 faced similar criticism earlier this year when Sony implemented a post-launch requirement for mandatory PSN account logins, only to remove the requirement after facing backlash.
