So the ongoing drama over Metro Exodus and its exclusivity deal with Epic Games has just gotten even more tense. The publisher for Metro Exodus, Deep Silver, negotiated a one year contract with Epic to feature the game on the newly launched Epic Store earlier this year. PC Gamers, despite their ongoing grievances with Steam, seem loathe to grant Epic any sort of leeway in their competition with Valve, citing the new exclusivity terms as motivation for not buying Deep Silver games. This has led to reports that Deep Silver may abandon PC as a platform for future titles if their newest release misses sales targets.
The ongoing saga of consumer backlash against Epic and Deep Silver is getting more complicated by the day. Metro titles were already targeted with review bombs on Steam, so the prospect of lost sales on the platform is a danger to Deep Silver, one they feel strongly about, as new statements seem to indicate.
The newest developments come to us courtesy of public statements from an anonymous forum poster who is part of the 4A Games team. For context, 4A Games is the current developer for Metro Exodus, and had little control over the decisions made by Deep Silver.
The post is in Russian, but a rough translation provides a general picture of the feelings at 4A Games in regard to this whole mess. The developer expresses concern over the suddenness of the decision to announce the exclusive deal so close to launch, and even sympathizes with gamers who were disappointed with the idea. They do also, correctly in my opinion, call out some people just looking for an axe to grind, as was the case I saw with many of those negative Steam reviews, or pirates looking for an excuse to steal the game.
Their statements also reveal the potential negative feedback from a boycott of Metro titles on PC, the loss of the franchise on the platform entirely. The developer obviously doesn’t want this to come to pass, and they express solidarity for the loyal fans who would be hurt by this decision. The tone here seems to reflect a plea to consider the consequences of ones actions. And regardless of the allegations of hypocrisy some may level at Deep Silver because of this idea, it is a solid point. It sucks to have a great game franchise essentially held over our heads like a carrot on a stick, but such is the essence of modern capitalism and the games industry I guess. There’s not really a better way at the moment. Either we play Metro on the platforms available, or watch the franchise wither and die.
The developer closes their post with a bit of their personal history with this particular franchise. And whatever your feelings in regards to Deep Silver, it really is terrible to see passionate fans and developers caught in the middle of arguable corporate decisions and angry customers.
On the other end of the spectrum, this particular response has come off as snarky and even greedy to some PC gamers. Some people are making some convincing points about Epic and its practices over the last few months. In simple terms, those people are calling the threats of removing Metro from PC a strongarm tactic. It’s all a bit crazy at this point, and people are angry or sad on both sides.
After all, customers don’t want the added inconvenience of yet another launcher or account to keep track of. They also don’t want to be put over a barrel over their game purchases. In short, some people are pretty negative about this particular response.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.