Long awaited post-apocalyptic shooter Metro Exodus will now be a timed-exclusive on the Epic Games Store, according to publisher Deep Silver. As expected, the announcement of such a move so close to the game's release date did not exactly sit well with the fans of the Metro franchise.

Based on the statement from Dr. Klemens Kundratitiz, CEO of Deep Silver, the decision to switch to Epic's new digital platform seems to have been a business-motivated one:

“We are delighted to partner with Epic to bring the digital PC version of Metro Exodus to market,” said Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, CEO at Deep Silver. “Epic’s generous revenue terms are a game changer that will allow publishers to invest more into content creation, or pass on savings to the players. By teaming up with Epic we will be able to invest more into the future of Metro and our ongoing partnership with series developer 4A Games, to the benefit of our Metro fans.”Source: Deep Silver

It is interesting to note that the original announcement of the exclusivity deal, as can be read in the above link, did not make any mention of it being a timed-exclusive deal. That only came about after fans of the franchise took to social media and to Steam to criticise and protest this sudden decision on the part of Deep Silver, as mentioned by PC Gamer.

The issue seems to be contentious enough that multiple parties have chipped in:

• Dmitry Glukhovsky, who is the Author of the Metro novels, apologised for the removal of the game from Steam and called for fans to continue to stay loyal to the franchise and to developer 4A Games.
  
  
• Valve criticised how unfair the decision was for gamers, considering Metro Exodus had been available for pre-order on Steam since last year, and how everything transpired which such short notice.
  
  
• THQ Nordic GmbH - which like Koch Media and Deep Silver - are under parent company THQ Nordic AB, shifted the responsibility on to Koch Media's shoulders as "as Metro is their intellectual property".
  
  
• Lars Wingefors, Group CEO and co-founder of THQ Nordic AB, voiced his support regarding the decision to have the game on the Epic Games Store.

Confused? Here are the important things to note:

• Metro Exodus will return to Steam and other retailers only from 14th February 2020 onwards.
  
  
• Those that have pre-ordered a physical copy of the game will receive it along with an Epic key.
  
  
• The game is now priced USD $50 on the US Epic Games Store, down from the original price of USD $59.99 on Steam. That said, the game is still priced £50 in the UK.
  
  
• If you have already pre-ordered the game on Steam, you will still be able to access it on the original launch date - which is 15th February this week - and you "will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam".
  
  
• The game is no longer available for pre-order on Steam.

Do comment below with your thoughts regarding the situation and tell us if this will affect your decision to get Metro Exodus!

Thanks to PC Gamer, TweakTown and GamesIndustry.biz.

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