The Epic Games Store has retracted part of its free offer in a cryptic tweet, just hours before Conan Exiles and Hue were scheduled to replace the last set of weekly freebies. Hue is available for free download as planned, but Conan Exiles has been delayed, and will be sold instead of given away.
This comes as a particular shock not just because the Epic Games Store seems to be doing well, but because of the nature of the announcement itself: a mere hours before the games were supposed to release, fans were informed via the official Epic Games Store Twitter account (with no further explanation whatsoever) that "Conan Exiles will not be free, but will be available for purchase on the store at a later date." Tweets promoting Hue as this week's sole free download, and The Escapists 2 as part of next week's collection, were posted shortly thereafter. Sharp users were also quick to point out that previous tweets regarding Conan Exiles' upcoming free release were subsequently deleted from Funcom's official Twitter account.
Since its debut in December 2018, the Epic Games Store has enticed gamers (and developers) with its frequent offers of free game downloads. Unlike other similar gift downloads, Epic Games Store freebies were/are unique because of the fact they never expire - users complete a "transaction" for $0.00 and simply keep the game in their libraries indefinitely. Players were excited to find out last week that Conan Exiles, known for its liberal nudity and comprehensive character creation system, would be joining the pool of free games, despite the fact it's several years old. Needless to say, fans were taken aback to find out the free game offer had been suddenly withdrawn this afternoon, with no explanation. Funcom has yet to make an official statement regarding the situation either, so fans remain completely in the dark.
This issue may feel especially frustrating because it comes barely 20 hours after the Epic Games Store faced unexpected delays in releasing its edition of Ubisoft Nadeo's Trackmania. Thankfully, the racing game was made available in less than a day's time, but between this and other recent game delays, users can't help but wonder what may be hindering the Epic Games Store.
Conan Exiles is of course playable on other platforms, and players are still welcome to grab their own copy of the underrated puzzle platformer, Hue, before next week's freebies take over. That said, players hoping to take a stab at Conan on the Epic Games Store will have to hold their breath (and wallets) for a few more moments.
Conan Exiles is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.