Dead Island 2, the zombie survival game that was previously exclusive to the Epic Games Store, has now made its debut on Steam, sparking mixed reactions among gamers. Despite initial criticisms of its design and gameplay, the sequel managed to achieve significant success, surpassing one million sales during its launch weekend and becoming the biggest launch in Deep Silver’s history.

However, the transition to Steam has not been without controversy. While many users are pleased to have the option to purchase the game from their preferred platform, others have expressed dissatisfaction with the inclusion of Epic Online Services. This free SDK, which facilitates various multiplayer features such as matchmaking and voice chat, has garnered negative reviews from some players.

Notably, Epic Online Services is utilized by a wide range of popular games, including PUBG, Rust, Warframe, and Rocket League. Despite its widespread adoption, the association with Epic Games appears to be a point of contention for certain gamers.

In response to concerns raised by the community, a developer from Plaion clarified that the Epic Games Store launcher is not mandatory for playing Dead Island 2 on Steam. Players can enjoy both single-player and multiplayer modes with Steam users without the need for the Epic Games Launcher. However, crossplay functionality with Epic Games Store users will require the launcher to synchronize friends lists.

Feedback from the Steam forums echoed similar sentiments, with users being reassured that connecting to a personal Epic Games account is not a prerequisite for accessing the game on Steam. This clarification aims to address the concerns of players who have reservations about the integration of Epic Online Services in the Steam version of Dead Island 2.