That said, I still don't feel particularly great about this turn of events. I'm going to argue "no," given that the original reward text read "A Digital Downloadable copy of the game, DRM free on PC, Mac, or Linux." The question, then, is whether or not this slight switcheroo is technically dishonest, especially in light of the fact that backers spent money under the assumption they'd be getting a DRM-free experience. We consider this to be the best option for everyone."Īnd technically, Harebrained is fulfilling its promise of a DRM-free game - just, you know, without any promise of future support. From the start, we’ve had to make practical decisions like this one to ensure we get the most out of the support you’ve given us. "We realize that for some of you, releasing on Steam isn’t your first choice but there are a lot of really great things we get from this decision that allow us to focus on the game rather than on making things like backend servers to deploy and manage shared content. Steam allows us to provide up-to-date downloads and patching along with a vibrant ecosystem for developing community-created content and file sharing." "After a lot of prototyping and research, we decided that our best delivery option for OSX/Windows/Linux is to go the route that great games (like Skyrim!) have taken and embrace Steam and the Steam Workshop.
You will, however, still be able to download a DRM-free version of the main game from Harebrained's website. So yes, Steam's going to be Shadowrun's neo-fantastical future lair - exclusively, if you want any DLC or player-created content. But wait, if it's launching on Steam, what does that mean for all of Harebrained's much-ballyhooed promises of being DRM-free? Well, it's kinda complicated. First, the good news: it's arriving in June, with Steam Workshop support straight out the gate. But I suppose I can't be too pessimistic, given that I was snapped out of my willful cyberslumber by word of concrete Shadowrun Returns release details. Now I'm quite sad, and devs will have to bear the loathsome burden of their intrinsic, inescapable pain all alone. I was having a very nice day - frolicking in the bunny-infested fields and devising new ways to make game developers weep sincere, beautiful tears, as is my way - when the world decided to remind me that Shadowrun Returns exists, but it's still not mine yet.