Tomb Raider Remastered's Epic Store Version Has Been "Downgraded"

Earlier this week, it was reported byTomb Raiderfans that the Epic Games Store version of the recent remaster had a lot more features than the Steam version, leaving many scratching their heads. Not only had issuessuch as missing water texturesand poor lighting been fixed, but new features had been added, such as extra poses for photo mode and the All Hallows bonus level that unlocks after earning all secrets in Tomb Raider 3.

Ina recent update to the game’s Steam page, the developers have explained that the reason behind these improvements being included in just the Epic Game Store is because a “development build” was accidentally released on the storefront, which contained “incomplete assets” and “work-in-progress” material that wasn’t meant to be included in the game just yet.

It was also explained that the Epic Game Store version of Tomb Raider Remastered has now been updated to bring it in line with the Steam version. Of course, that means the developers have removed many of the improvements that were included in the accidentally released development build, meaning the game has technically been downgraded, at least for a few weeks until the update is pushed out in full.

It’s worth noting that the Epic Game Store version wasn’t perfect, as there are some players claiming achievements were bugged and that the game included a debug menu not intended for release.

Even though the developers have promised that changes are coming soon, this whole debacle has irked a not insignificant group of fans who are becoming increasingly impatient about having to deal with texture issues and bugs. You’ll find Tomb Raider fanson the series' subredditarguing with each other over the situation, with some claiming Crystal Dynamics should have released a finished product, and others trying to convince people to be patient.

If we take one good thing away from this entire situation, it’s that the patch that Crystal Dynamics is working on appears to be pretty significant. If a work-in-progress build was enough to fix a lot of big fan complaints and add extra content, then the final update should be more than enough to satisfy irritated players.

It’s unlikely a lot of people were playing the game on the Epic Games Store anyway, so this change is pretty much meaningless to a large majority of people currently complaining. All we have to do is be patient for another couple of weeks, maybe go play something else if the game’s issues bother you so much, and then come back once the update is live. It’s not ideal, but it’s definitely not the end of the world.