Warhammer 40k Space Marine dev offers full Steam refunds, and a new upgrade path

The Warhammer 40k Space Marine remaster is a strange beast. The new Master Crafted Edition is an overhauled and upgraded version of the beloved 2011 original, but it landed to a surprisingly damp reception, with next to no active players and those that did pick it up delivering it a damning 29% Steam review score. Now, developer Sneakybox and publisher Sega are offering a full refund to anyone who bought a copy, and have introduced a limited-time discount for those who wish to upgrade from the old Anniversary Edition.

The Warhammer 40k Space Marine: Master Crafted Edition seemed like a relatively easy sell. When the original launched back in 2011, it quickly established itself as a stalwart among the best Warhammer 40k games; the simple satisfaction of carving your way through hordes of Orks with a Chainsword was hard to deny. Its ten-year Anniversary Edition launched in 2021, was a free upgrade for players that already owned the original on Steam, and still boasts a 92% Steam rating to this day.

Following the similarly tremendous reception to Space Marine 2, which just released its new Siege mode update, the Master Crafted Edition promised to offer "quality-of-life and graphical improvements that take the Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine experience to the next level." User reviews, however, criticize its $39.99 / £34.99 price point, stating that there's not enough of an upgrade to justify the cost, and even calling out new bugs and a lack of fixes for old problems.

"We've heard your concerns around pricing," the game's creators write in a new update, "and we want to be clear about the steps we're taking to address them. If you've already purchased Space Marine: Master Crafted Edition, you are eligible for a full refund, regardless of playtime, as long as you request it before Thursday July 10, 2025 (when the Steam Summer Sale ends)."

Additionally, if you already own the Anniversary Edition, you'll now be eligible for a 50% discount on the Master Crafted Edition during that same period (until Thursday July 10). Anyone who has already purchased the new version and wants to take advantage of this must refund the game manually and then repurchase it at the discounted price.

"We know this situation has been frustrating for some of you, and we're sorry for the confusion it's caused," the developer continues. "We hope this approach offers a workable solution while we continue improving the game itself." It then lays out many of the planned improvements, which it says will be included in "a series of patches over the coming weeks."

These upgrades include improvements to the HUD, scoreboard, and chat, additional button prompts and controller icons, and fixes for softlocks, graphical issues, and input problems. The Steam Deck version will launch correctly, the weapon wheel ammo display is being fixed, and inconsistencies in campaign info and map loading should be smoothed out. You can read through the full list via Steam.

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