Maligned Epic Account Login Requirement Results In New Steam Game Getting Review Bombed

Earth Defense Force 6 launched this week for PC, PS4, and PS5, and the Steam version has faced criticism for requiring an Epic Games Store login for online play. But a change to this controversial requirement is already being explored by the game’s developer.”

The announcement seemingly came out of nowhere, as the Epic requirement wasn’t communicated to players until launch day when the developers revealed it in a Steam post. Of course, players weren’t thrilled about this, and the review status of the game was “mostly negative” upon launch, as Gamesradar reports.

Developer Sandlot responded to the backlash with a new post on Steam, saying, “The EDF 6 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.”

The studio didn’t provide a timeline or what it would change, but the team is now working on a solution. As of right now, Earth Defense Force 6’s review status is sitting at a slightly better “mixed” on Steam. The Epic requirement for a game on Steam is unusual, but not unprecedented. Another game, Bigfoot, previously required an Epic account on Steam before later removing it.

Earth Defense Force 6 is the latest entry in the series that lets players kill giant alien bugs and creatures bent on destroying the planet. The game has been compared to Helldivers and Starship Troopers: Extermination. Coincidentally, Helldivers 2 faced similar criticisms earlier this year due to Sony implementing mandatory PSN account logins after launch, but walked back the requirement following a backlash.