MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is exclusive to Epic Games Store

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries has been announced as an exclusive to the Epic Games Store, ripping the game from Steam users' hands and throwing it onto the Epic Games Store on December 10.

The new release date is when the game goes live on tghe Epic Games Store, with refunds being offered through to September 1, while an 'Exclusive Closed Beta' opens up on November 5 if you pre-ordered the Community Edition of the game.

Russ Bullock, an executive producer with Piranha Games said: "Our partnership with the Epic Games store allows Piranha the opportunity to make sure MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries meets our internal goal of creating the best MechWarrior game possible. Since we announced the development of the first single-player MechWarrior game in 17 years, we have stated that our goal was to deliver to fans a MechWarrior: Mercenaries experience with true freedom of choice and to be able to share that experience in a coop setting".

He continued: "Understandably some fans will be disappointed that they have to wait a short while longer for MechWarrior 5, but it's important to Piranha Games that we absolutely get this right. We are happy to say that our new partnership with Epic Games store allows us the time and ability to accomplish our goals both in the games development and marketing efforts".

The developer explained in detail about the delay for the game, and its push into the Epic Games Store as an exclusive in its FAQ. Piranha Games explained: "When we announced our September release date it was our best estimate on the time we needed to make the quality of game we desired, as well as a release date we felt wouldn't be overcrowded. As we approached the date it was becoming congested with several very large game releases and it was becoming clear it would be very challenging to meet our marketing and localization goals for that date".