If you received the shambles of a port that was Batman: Arkham Knight with your graphics card with which you intended to play it on, you may be able to get your hands on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain for free; and no, it’s not a scam, nor is it even fraudulent.
So far it has only been confirmed that a small number of retailers are showing their generosity, but it is at least something for those who still feel a little aggrieved by the standard of Batman: Arkham Knight on PC.
According to numerous posters on Reddit, Newegg will offer you a replacement code for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain if you call up and explain that Arkham Knight was a joke and that it has since been removed from Steam. Make sure you still have you order number from your original purchase from Newegg as it will most likely be needed – nay, almost definitely needed as proof.
There are already reports of this working for numerous people with Newegg and it would seem the company is offering hassle-free replacement codes to customers who have been wronged. If you didn’t order from Newegg, but chose to shop at BestBuy, you may also be in luck as one poster reported being able to complain that Assassin’s Creed: Unity on PC was a broken mess and received a free copy of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Not bad, right?
It may be worth giving Amazon a shout, too, though according to some, the customer service reps aren’t the most knowledgeable when it comes to games being buggered and what not, so it may be a bit of a drawn out process.
So basically, if you bought a graphics card from any retailer that gave out Batman: Arkham Knight and/or Assassin’s Creed: Unity as a promotional offer, you should probably ask the outlet that supplied you with your products about the possibility of a refund. However, don’t try and swindle a free game from these companies, they’ll know immediately what you’re up to and if you can’t provide proof that you were actually a paying customer, you’re going to look a bit of a fool; plus, they’re doing a good thing here, so it’d be a shame to ruin the spirit of it by trying to game the system.
It’s good to see retailers giving their customers a bit of respect, though we’d have prefered this not to have to happen and that games release in a better state than they do. Ah well.