WRC 8 will launch on PC exclusively in the Epic Games Store

By Richard Devine
published

Another day, another exclusive, another batch of angry gamers.

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.

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None of this has any impact on the console versions of WRC 8, with Xbox One (opens in new tab) 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.

Richard Devine
Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine

13 Comments
  • Save is hardly the term I'd use.
  • lol Yeah. I would call it pathetic move that hurts gaming more than it helps it.
    They are investing money to delay a third party game for some gamers.
    If only they invested all that money in making their own games. Paying money to create instead of paying to restrict.
  • There's no way Epic Store would be able to compete without exclusives. It's just a matter of fact. Who the heck would want to choose Epic Store over Steam freely? Think about it. That's why they're doing it.
  • You can still choose not to use epic store if it bothers you enough.
  • You can't if you want to play the game.
  • I didn't say I don't understand why they're doing it, I just don't like it. Tim Sweeney is a hypocrite for one.
  • When they say things like "WRC 8 will still be released next year on Steam as the PC exclusivity is one year long."
    They're trying to push the image that the PC as a platform IS epic store. No, the PC as a platform is and should be open. Stupid **** like that gets your game pirated, and your company/game a bad rep with gamers.
  • If the PC platform were truly open then developers would provide their games from their own websites, without any kind of launchers and not locked behind DRM like Steam, uPlay, Epic, etc.
  • Can you type this out again but in English?
  • I'm sorry, what? Spider-Man, made by Sony for a Sony console. Mario, a Nintendo property made for a Nintendo console. What's your point exactly? The Epic Store isn't a console, it's a shop, a place you spend money and a place many don't want to for their own reasons. PC gaming doesn't need to be fragmented into Epic Store vs GOG vs Steam vs Microsoft Store vs Origin etc etc. It is, and there's nothing we can do about it, but Epic is only making the problem worse.
  • Actually, Sony didn't make Spider-Man. They just bought the company that made it for them. 😉But you made your point.
  • Did Epic fund development of WRC 8? No, they just paid publisher crap ton of money a week before release!
  • As long as I can play it on PC I could care less about where I'm buying it from.