The Metro Exodus timed exclusive revelation has resulted in a statement being released by THQ Nordic. The statement has been issued following the announcement that Metro Exodus would be exclusive to the Epic Games Store on launch. The announcement of Epic Games Store exclusivity was made a little over two weeks before the game was set to launch on February 15, 2019. It will release on Steam in 2020.
The list of Epic Games Store exclusives has been steadily growing. Upcoming titles like Satisfactory and Rebel Galaxy Outlaw were among the first games to eschew Steam in favor of better margins (and reportedly a hefty chunk of cash direct from Epic Games). A steady stream of developers and publishers are electing to take advantage of Epic Games’ sweeter deal that lets them keep 88 percent of their revenue and the folks behind Metro Exodus have recently joined them.
Unfortunately, the decision regarding Epic Games Store exclusivity doesn’t seem to have gone over well with one of the companies involved in the game. Here is THQ Nordic’s statement on the Metro Exodus timed exclusive that was published via a pair of tweets (first tweet, second tweet):
“The decision to publish Metro Exodus as a timed Epic Store exclusive was made entirely on Koch Media’s side as Metro is their intellectual property. They are a sister company of THQ Nordic (Vienna), which is the reason why we can and will not comment on this matter. We do not want to categorically exclude the possibility of timed exclusives for any of our games in the future, 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.” -THQ Nordic Twitter Account
The THQ Nordic statement on the Metro Exodus timed exclusive seemingly infers that the decision wasn’t entirely up to them. The statement by THQ Nordic is certainly understandable as the responses to the announcement of exclusivity on the game’s official Twitter have been less than kind.
It seems that the tangled web of companies behind Metro Exodus may have resulted in a bit of conflict behind the scenes. The Metro Exodus timed exclusive will launch on February 15, 2019, with the Steam release to follow one year later. If you don’t particularly mind the Epic Games Store, you’ll soon be able to pick up the whole trilogy on there.
