Metro Exodus - Being Removed from Steam

Steam, GOG or no sale. Bad enough I have that Origin virus installed. no way I’m doing another publisher specific client.

Ragnaris said:

I don't think this really affects anyone who wasn't going to pick up the game. If someone had no plans to purchase Metro: Exodus, and this upsets them, I think they were just looking for reasons to be upset.

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I'm not entirely sure of what you're saying - or rather what it encompasses - but I had definitely planned on picking up Metro Exodus. And now I no longer do. Was I incredibly excited for it? No. Barring very, very few titles, I don't get excited about any game release these days. That's not so much a reflection of contemporary game quality (or lack thereof) so much as it is my growing [gaming] disinterest that gradually comes with age, as well as an immense backlog of games and having long-since come to terms with the fact I'm throwing money away 80% of the time when I impulse purchase something and don't play it for years (if I ever do).

In essence, what I'm saying is that if a game isn't available on Steam, it had better appeal to me on a whole other level for which I wish to play that very instant (very few do). Moreso, I look to game purchases as what I want to play eventually rather than in the immediate future. If it isn't available on Steam, collated alongside my other three hundred games I have yet to play, chances are I'll likely forget I even own a game. And if I do remember, it's likely I won't want to bother with the nuisance of account logins and password retrievals for an otherwise completely ancillary service by the time I do have the interest and/or time.

Drithius said:

I'm not entirely sure of you're saying - or rather what it encompasses - but I had definitely planned on picking up Metro Exodus. And now I no longer do. Was I incredibly excited for it? No. Barring very, very few titles, I don't get excited about any game release these days. That's not so much a reflection of contemporary game quality (or lack thereof) so much as it is my growing [gaming] disinterest that gradually comes with age as well as an immense backlog of games and having long-since come to terms with the fact I'm throwing money away 80% of the time when I impulse purchase something and don't play it for years (if I ever do).

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I don't really see the problem. You admit that you weren't incredibly excited about it anyways, and it seems that you don't play a large % of games you purchase until years later if at all.

It's unlikely that Exodus is the kind of title that's going to be 50% off in a few months so I doubt you'd be purchasing it before the exclusivity period was up, and you're not going to forget about it because it'll be plastered all over Steam's front page when it debuts next year.

If it's really a game that you definitely want to pick up, there are still Steam keys available.

wolfgrimdark said:

I just dislike having to have two bits of software for a game more and more. You buy the game then need to use a special platform to play it - Bethnet, Epic, Gog, Steam, EA, etc. Suppose a sign of the times. Just like a clean PC and it feels cluttered with all these various game agents … probably all collecting information while being used.

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It is why I only use Steam and if I want a game from GoG I get it directly from their website.
I also have battlenet installed but that one was first and existed before everyone decided to make their own.

JDR13, there wont be steam keys, stop disinforming people, every retail key will activate on epicshitstore.
Anyway seems 2033/2034 got tons of negative reviews on steam since this shit move haha.

It seems the retailers must of known for quite some time too.

https://gamingbolt.com/metro-exodus-pc-physical-copies-will-ship-with-epic-games-store-key

I agree with the guys tweet.

Simply because he bought a physical box which some still do expecting a Steam key in the box. Now he's told it will be an epic key instead two week before release.

The old bait ans switch tactic. Anyone defending this action is ludicrous.

Another update it was the publisher who made this decision not the developer.

In a series of tweets, THQ Nordic stated its official stance regarding the timed-exclusive release of Metro Exodus on Epic’s digital store. According to THQ Nordic, the decision to release the game initially only on Epic’s store was made entirely by Koch Media who is responsible for Deep Silver’s games.

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Whats funny here is they own Koch Media.

Couchpotato said:

I agree with the guys tweet.

Simply because he bought a physical box which some still do expecting a Steam key in the box. Now he's told it will be an epic key instead two week before release.

The old bait ans switch tactic. Anyone defending this action is ludicrous.

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I don't think anyone is defending the last minute switch - that's obviously annoying for people, and seems like a foolish PR mistake.

Personally, I'm just saying that if there is going to be credible competition to Steam, the challengers may have to use tools like exclusive content, to make any inroads. Otherwise, I think it's a bit like saying, "Yes, you're welcome to enter the arena and fight the reigning champion, an 800lb gorilla, but you must do so with one hand tied behind your back."

The only game I've cared enough about to install a separate distribution service on my computer has been M&M X. Why? Because it's entirely different from what else had been available up until that point (and still so to most degree). If you want to entice people to your service, you should consider genres that are overlooked - or even entirely new. Netflix is a good example of this with not just their intelligent lineup of scifi (Black Mirror, Altered Carbon), but also the recent experimental storybook Bandersnatch.

Don't simply create yet-another-fps, no matter its level of polish, and expect people to flock to you. You need not simply original content, but original ideas. At least that's how I feel about it; in a sea of video game releases, very little is compelling.

porcozaur said:

JDR13, there wont be steam keys, stop disinforming people, every retail key will activate on epicshitstore.
Anyway seems 2033/2034 got tons of negative reviews on steam since this shit move haha.

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This isn't actually misinformation. Metro: Exodus will return to Steam after a year of exclusivity with Epic, at which point you can buy Steam keys again.

For anyone that wants Steam keys now, well, you're out of luck.

porcozaur said:

I had definitely planned on picking up Metro Exodus. And now I no longer do. Was I incredibly excited for it? No. Barring very, very few titles, I don't get excited about any game release these days.

Moreso, I look to game purchases as what I want to play eventually rather than in the immediate future.

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Why would one year exclusivity suddenly kill your interest if you had no plans to jump in right away, particularly given that it'll be available on Steam after a year? More than anything, I'd say this exclusivity deal caters to you - you'll eventually get around to playing it not long after the game is released, and likely at a discounted price, too.

porcozaur said:

JDR13, there wont be steam keys, stop disinforming people, every retail key will activate on epicshitstore.

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Where did I say anything about retail keys? I'm talking about digital pre-order keys.

“Any customer with an outstanding pre-order for Metro Exodus on PC through any digital retailer will receive their game as expected on their store of choice.”

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In other words, Steam keys that are labeled pre-order should be fine even if you can still find one now. They're not going to magically change into Epic Store keys.

porcozaur said:

Anyway seems 2033/2034 got tons of negative reviews on steam since this shit move haha.

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Anyone doing that is just being a pathetic troll.

It's cheaper on Epic Store. And I care more about that than anything Steam has (and doesn't have) to offer.
I mentioned this could happen when Epic Store was announced.

the price decrease only applies in the US, so 0 fucks given

Sure, but it's a good sign.

This speaks to the need for an industry standard for serving game clients. We should be able to buy a game from a vendor, but not be locked into their closed platform. A common client interface should work with any vendor who adopts the open source standard.

rjshae said:

This speaks to the need for an industry standard for serving game clients. We should be able to buy a game from a vendor, but not be locked into their closed platform. A common client interface should work with any vendor who adopts the open source standard.

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Couldn't agree more. It's clearly a big part of the resistance to more competitors - the artificial requirement for more clients to service each store's DRM. It's a genuine issue, and it weighs heavily in favour of the incumbent, but it's a solvable problem. I think most of us would agree that the ideal number of clients is 1, while understanding that more competition would be a good thing.

EDIT: I actually think it would be a brilliant move for Epic to start an open-source alliance for the creation of a shared client with all other stores that want to join them, with a shared database for licensing and DRM. So, henceforth, they can co-operate to prevent client proliferation from confounding the market.

EDIT EDIT: And, a shared system for licensing and DRM, run by a consortium of companies, could help to mitigate fears about newcomers fading away, and losing access to our purchases.

@Ripper sounds to good to be true.

Right now at least a few open source developers are working on that at least. We'll see if the client owners try to stop the development of those programs in the future.

Update: Anyway never thought I'd agree with RPS.

See, here’s the weird thing: Steam, as damaging and dangerous a monopoly as it might have over PC gaming, got to this position a few years back without acquiring competitors, and without demanding developers and publishers bind themselves to inescapable contracts. It just sort of bumbled and stumbled its way there. And Valve, while deserving of so much criticism, significantly have never – so far as we know – asked that a game be exclusively released on their platform.

Annoying people, hogging games to yourself to try to force your store onto players, making PC gaming more inconvenient rather than less: none of this is going to help Epic, nor make the Epic Store competitive with Steam. Being better than Steam would. And it would be far better for them to spend the presumably astonishing amounts of money they’re using to secure exclusives on creating a Steam-beating piece of software.

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Now you know your company has an identity crisis when this happens.

THQ Nordic GmbH is the owner of Deep Silver and its parent company Koch Media, the latter of which still holds the rights to the Metro franchise, and yesterday suggested it wasn't enamored with the company's decision to pull Metro Exodus from Steam in favor of the Epic Store.

"We do not want to categorically exclude the possibility of timed exclusives for any of our games in the future," wrote THQ Nordic GmbH on Twitter, "but speaking in the here and now, we definitely want to have the players choose the platform of their liking and make our portfolio available to as many outlets as possible."

Now, THQ Nordic GmbH's own parent company, THQ Nordic AB, has distanced itself from those comments, and said it fully supports Koch Media's decision as well as the autonomy of its various subsidiaries.

"I believe it’s in the group’s, and ultimately the consumers’, best interest that business decisions are made close to the market and this is the group’s consistent business model," said THQ Nordic AB chief exec Lars Wingefors.

"I firmly believe that Deep Silver and Koch Media have carefully considered the advantages and disadvantages, opportunities and risks in their decision to go solely with Epic Games Store. The decision has my full support."

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Basically this is what happened:

1. THQ Nordic AB - Supports it
2. THQ Nordic GmbH - Had no idea
3. Deep Silver/Koch Media - Made the deal
4. 4A Games - Had no idea

What a mess.

https://www.gamepressure.com/e.asp?ID=2285 Glukhovsky criticizes Deep Silver's deal with Epic