Cult classic shooter series returns to Steam after 5 years and immediately takes a piledriver into the review dumpster over Epic Games account requirement

Earth Defense Force 6, the first mainline entry in the cult classic bug-blastin' shooter series since 2019, just got a worldwide launch, but the Steam version is getting absolutely bodied in the reviews because it requires an Epic Games account to play online - something the devs initially failed to note to players.

After 1,030 reviews on launch day, Earth Defense Force 6 stands at a 'Mostly Negative' rating on Steam. There are a handful of complaints about the game itself, but the vast majority of the negative reviews take aim at the fact that you're required to sign into an Epic account for online play. The system requirements now note the account restriction, but that warning was not in place for the early hours after the game's launch.

"For this game, to enhance crossplay and online functionality, online play requires signing in to your Epic Games account," the devs say in a Steam blog. "We apologize for the lack of advance notice. 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."

Numerous games make use of Epic Online Services to power their multiplayer features, particularly when those features involve crossplay, but not all of them share EDF6's Epic account requirement. The technical details behind EDF6's implementation of these features were broken down in a promotional blog a few months ago, and the devs suggest that the Epic features made getting the game's cross-platform functions running much easier.

But if there's one thing PC gamers hate, it's being forced to sign into an external account beyond the auspices of their preferred platform. We saw the intense backlash against Helldivers 2's plans for PSN requirements earlier this year, and there are plenty of Steam loyalists who have a particularly dim view of Epic. Whether the backlash prompts a similar backtrack from the EDF devs remains to be seen.

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