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Those of you who were looking to purchase Sniper Elite 5 on the Epic Games Store were probably surprised when it was suddenly taken off the storefront prior to launch. While it did stir up some confusion, pre-orders were refunded to those who availed of them, ultimately resulting in nothing but a minor inconvenience. Customers were left confused though - and now, developer Rebellion has issued an apology.
“Due to circumstances beyond our control Sniper Elite 5 was not available on the Epic Store at launch but will release on that platform in the future. We apologise for any inconvenience,” said the studio in a statement to VGC.
As for if the game will return to the Epic Games Store, the storefront currently lists it as "coming soon". It's unclear why the game was suddenly taken off the store, but based on the wording of the statement, it could be that the game did not meet certain requirements that Epic put forth, or a deal of some kind unfortunately fell through. Thankfully, it seems everyone who pre-ordered the game either has, or will soon be getting a refund.
However, if you don't want to pay full price for the game at all, Sniper Elite 5 came to Xbox Game Pass for PC at launch. It was joined by the likes of Jurassic World Evolution 2, Little Witch in the Woods, Skate, Umurangi Generation Special Edition, and Farming Simulator 22, which were all added to the service in May.
In her review for the game, our Features Lead Jade King said "Sniper Elite 5 is a great little shooter, and I had a lot of fun sinking into its sprawling levels and inventive mechanics. It doesn’t change the formula or even introduce anything particularly new to the wider genre, but perfectly understands what it wants to be and delivers on that expectation with significant flair. I viewed it as a palette cleanser of sorts, an experience that harkens back to a different generation of single-player shooters we don’t tend to see anymore. It’s almost nostalgic, and aside from Wolfenstein there is no better Nazi-murdering simulator out there."