What you need to know
- Having been listed in Steam already, the game will launch only in the Epic Games Store.
- Will come to Steam after a one-year exclusivity deal.
- Still set to launch in September alongside the console versions (aside from the Switch which is launching in October).
The Epic Games Store is here to save PC gaming once more by claiming another exclusive title due to launch soon. Rally fans have been looking forward to WRC 8 arriving in September, complete with its official license in tow. After WRC 7 was so good, it's exciting times for fans of going sideways digitally.
Today, however, the bombshell dropped that the PC version of WRC 8 will be launching in the Epic Games Store and only in the Epic Games Store. Once again here to challenge the Steam monopoly by snagging yet another exclusive that can't be sold there, or anywhere else.
Yes, I'm a little snarky, and I don't even mind the Epic Games Store. But I don't like exclusives, because they don't benefit the most important people in all this: the players. Not to mention that early preview builds have been sent out to press and influencers through Steam.
In any case, it is what it is, but it does at least only seem to be a time limited exclusive deal. The issue is that the time limit is apparently a year.
WRC 8 will still be released next year on Steam as the PC exclusivity is one year long. The page will be updated in the near future. 😉WRC 8 will still be released next year on Steam as the PC exclusivity is one year long. The page will be updated in the near future. 😉— WRC 8 The Official Game (@WRCTheGame) August 26, 2019August 26, 2019
None of this has any impact on the console versions of WRC 8, with Xbox One and PS4 slated to arrive on September 10 alongside the PC. Only the Switch version comes later, with handheld rally drivers waiting until October.
Exclusivity aside, WRC 8 is shaping up to be an excellent game, and one I'm looking forward to getting properly stuck into. But I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing Epic would stop waving money around and just let game publishers use their store, alongside all the others.
