Metro Exodus Developer Discusses Boycott of the PC Platform for Sequels over Steam Review Bombing

[Nkd]

I understand the outrage but man I have steam too and I don't understand this hate for games that are not going to steam. I mean it just proves you love steam more than you love the game. I would love for everything to be on steam but I also understand the monopoly they have over everything. So I don't mind at all and people need to keep calm heads when it comes to this. This steam or nothing mentality makes no sense.

Heck, I can pretty much bet that steam probably makes way higher margins and less money back in developer's pocket. We should all be for developers making their money back so they can invest more back. Bash me for it, I love steam but I will never be boycotting shit because I play games because of the game not because I am a steam fanboy. People should be pissed if they already purchased and they lost their right to play on steam. Which doesnt seem to be the issue here. Just cuz you can't buy it on steam? common!

Bash me all you want but this love for steam is pure nonsense. Developers need to make money too and I can bet they are glad for EPIC fighting steam. Don't understand this mad love for steam lol. Don't buy that is your right but steam isn't entitled to every game. Its like if its not on amazon I am not going to buy it. Dumb!

 

[Minus Infinity]

I'd be more sympathetic if EA were actually trying to give STEAM real competition and thus helping improve STEAM as well. Competition is good for consumers and businesses. This is just EA trying to undercut STEAM but in no way improve the model. Consumers will lose out in the end. Metro should have been on both services and let the market decide where they want to purchase the game. You can't say it's coming to STEAM and take pre-orders and then screw people over because you found a better deal. If they had never announced it was coming to STEAM in the first place they wouldn't be in this shit storm. I won't be using EA's store ever.

 

[Nkd]

I'd be more sympathetic if EA were actually trying to give STEAM real competition and thus helping improve STEAM as well. Competition is good for consumers and businesses. This is just EA trying to undercut STEAM but in no way improve the model. Consumers will lose out in the end. Metro should have been on both services and let the market decide where they want to purchase the game. You can't say it's coming to STEAM and take pre-orders and then screw people over because you found a better deal. If they had never announced it was coming to STEAM in the first place they wouldn't be in this shit storm. I won't be using EA's store ever.

But those people with preorder get to keep their game on steam so how did they get screwed over though? Also, the game will be $10 cheaper on EPIC store as a result of 88/12 split. So they are passing on the savings to consumers. As always people will bitch and steam is crying because they lost their margins. Maybe steam should lower their fees as well. I will never blame the developer for wanting more money back, so they can invest more in the future. Steam has a monopoly and lets be real about it. If you play a game because of the game no one should be boycotting shit. If you preordered on steam you get to keep the game on steam and you will get all updates through steam.

I'll take the dollar 10 discount over my love for steam. lol.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

The reason ppl don't want to take 2 minutes to install another game launcher is because IT'S ANOTHER GAME INSTALLER that none of us want.

We already have steam, Uplay, origin and now epics'? No thanks.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Good. Let them leave. If their response to customers calling them out on anti-consumer actions is to whine like entitled babies, then they deserve to stay on consoles. Metro is primarily a PC franchise, much like crysis was. Forcing your customer to go through a single storefront to consume your product is inherently anti consumer and anti-competition. I dont give EA or ubisoft a break for forcing uplay and origin on us, 4A doesnt get a break either. And if they want to act like us gamers should be GRATEFUL that they bother to publish their games on PC at all, and tell people "support us or we will leave", then screw them. They can keep that kind of abusive, entitled corporate attitude.

I say let them leave, and let the door hit them on the way out. Other developers can fill in the gap they provide, and when their sales take a massive hit and they come crawling back, we can laugh in their faces for being complete dunderheads.

 

[Capitan Harlock]

'll take the dollar 10 discount over my love for steam. lol.

The 10$ discount is only for US not Europe so nope is dickery .
All this situation don't make any sense and is all Koch Media fault in the first place.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The reason ppl don't want to take 2 minutes to install another game launcher is because IT'S ANOTHER GAME INSTALLER that none of us want.

Remember when games were shipped on disks? Virtually every game had its own dedicated installer and launcher. There was no management other than shortcuts spammed in the Start Menu and on the Desktop. Microsoft tried to rectify that with the Game Explorer introduced in Vista. The ecosystem today, even with more competitors launching their own storefronts, is mild compared to what it was.

Monopolies are terrible.

 

[rtwjunkie]

All this situation don't make any sense and is all Koch Media fault in the first place.

Exactly, Koch and THQ Nordic. These decisions are made by publishers. Everybody blaming 4A needs to just stop.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Exactly, Koch and THQ Nordic. These decisions are made by publishers. Everybody blaming 4A needs to just stop.

4A studios chose to partner with THQ nordic. They chose to enlist themselves with greedy publishers. They deserve just as much blame for joining with publishers as publishers deserve for pushing these ideas.

In this era of digital distribution, there is 0 reason to partner with publishers unless you want a physical release, and then it should ONLY be for the physical release. Digital releases have 0 reason to use a publisher.

If you join a gang then get shot by a rival gang, you are just as much at fault for joining the gang in the first place as the the other gang is at fault for shooting you. Same thing applies here. 4A made their bed, one of 4As DEVELOPERS is talking about this boycott, not THQ or Koch, they absolutely deserve this backlash. There is 0 reason to use publishers in the digital age other then greed/laziness.

Remember when games were shipped on disks? Virtually every game had its own dedicated installer and launcher. There was no management other than shortcuts spammed in the Start Menu and on the Desktop. Microsoft tried to rectify that with the Game Explorer introduced in Vista. The ecosystem today, even with more competitors launching their own storefronts, is mild compared to what it was.

Monopolies are terrible.

Remember when Steam became popular because you didnt need to create logons for tons of other developers and deal with different launchers?

 

[rtwjunkie]

4A studios chose to partner with THQ nordic. They chose to enlist themselves with greedy publishers. They deserve just as much blame for joining with publishers as publishers deserve for pushing these ideas.

You really are clueless. It wasn’t just yesterday they “joined up” with THQ and Koch. They have been with them for awhile. Developers have almost no voice in anything. Most of them work like slaves. You blaming 4A for joining THQ is like me blaming you if one day your employer suddenly turns into this evil agency intent on causing world chaos. It makes no sense.

I know it is tough for you to process, but the 4A employee is merely laying out the facts of what will happen. Their publisher who they are under contract with will not give them money for a future PC game. That’s all he is saying.

 

[Naito]

I've already got Steam, Origin, UPlay, Galaxy, Rockstar Social, Windows Store/Xbox Live and battle.net, so what's one more eh?

 

[timta2]

Before I got to the last paragraph I was thinking "this isn't the developer", starting with the weird rant about pirates, considering it's not out yet, and then he goes on about how much he's played those games? That's really odd and he sounds like a fan masquerading as a developer.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

The reason ppl don't want to take 2 minutes to install another game launcher is because IT'S ANOTHER GAME INSTALLER that none of us want.

We already have steam, Uplay, origin and now epics'? No thanks.

us? you got a frogger in your pocket? Speak for yourself. I dont mind, but I'm a Gamer at Heart. I buy a game not a launcher.

Remember when games were shipped on disks? Virtually every game had its own dedicated installer and launcher. There was no management other than shortcuts spammed in the Start Menu and on the Desktop. Microsoft tried to rectify that with the Game Explorer introduced in Vista. The ecosystem today, even with more competitors launching their own storefronts, is mild compared to what it was.

Monopolies are terrible.

Omg, each game installed an installer when there was no "standard" from MS, think win95/8.

Before I got to the last paragraph I was thinking "this isn't the developer", starting with the weird rant about pirates, considering it's not out yet, and then he goes on about how much he's played those games? That's really odd and he sounds like a fan masquerading as a developer.

a lot of developers are avid gamers.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Remember when Steam became popular because you didnt need to create logons for tons of other developers and deal with different launchers?

Steam became popular because of the sales. Coincidentally, fantastic sales ended circa 2014 too. Mind you, that's not Valve's fault. It was publishers themselves getting a little too carried away with big Steam Sale events. They cut prices on products more than they should have because they got swept away in the hype. Once they learned that Steam Sale events actually wipe out most of their potential sales, they now take it slow (10% -> 33% -> 50% -> drop MSRP $10 -> 50% -> drop MSRP $10 -> 50% -> etc.). Games usually take years to reach $15 now unless they bombed (like MEA) where during the hype time it happened in 6-12 months.

Because publishers are wise to how digital sales work now, no competitor can gain the edge that Steam did in those few years when publishers were trying to figure the market out.


And remember, Steam has a thousands of thousands of exclusives. The fact there is so much stink over a publisher doing a time exclusive on Epic Games Store shows how much mindshare Steam has. Just keep in mind that developers and publishers aren't very happy with Valve and haven't been for a long time because Steam is crowded now. It's hard to stand out without spending millions in mainstream marketing. Origin exists because EA doesn't want to give 30% of their revenue to Valve. For what? Running a few servers? AAA games cost millions to make, millions to market, and are pennies to digital distribute. Valve should have seen the defections coming from mile away. Ubisoft didn't abandon Steam completely because they feel the exposure outweighs the cost.

 

[R-T-B]

I will be staying away from this Dev and Publisher. No way to treat your fans. MAy be put it back on Steam store if you dont want ppl protesting, which is only be done by not buying it or review bombing.

Review bombing is never justified. You are being asked to review the content of the game, not the publisher.

Bleh, that's utopian thinking and I know it, but it's still true.

Let’s everyone take a step back and realize nothing has advanced beyond what we already knew prior to today. We know after last week’s announcement that no more Steam preorders would be available, and the sales from that point forward are on Epic. We know that THQ and Steam both said that all Steam preorders would be honored and totally supported in the Steam community and platform.

What we don’t know for sure is if this statement was by the dev company, or by a loose cannon employee, or just someone spouting off. We also don’t know, as one of our members asserted here, that any Steam keys sold must go through the Epic launcher.

So let’s relax until we know facts.

Thank god someone's marbles ain't loose in this whole fiasco.

A console-exclusive AAA FPS?

You say that like it's a new idea or something...

 

[moproblems99]

If you don't like it, wait until the contract expires and buy it where you want.

What, you mean this game will be available elsewhere? And I don't have to install the Epic Launcher?

*POOF* Mind blown.....

 

[FordGT90Concept]

'Metro Exodus' will be an Epic Games Store exclusive for a year
Pre-orders on Steam will be honored but the game won't be on the platform until 2020.


Wouldn't be surprised if it is on GOG too at that point seeing how the other Metro games are.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

All I have to say is 4A Games/Deep Silver has lost a ton of current customers on top of new, potential customers who has yet to play the previous Metro games. Pulling a last minute changes shows how much of a dick they are.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Wouldn't be surprised if it is on GOG too at that point seeing how the other Metro games are.

And a bunch of people will be waiting for that.

 

[Arumio]

meanwhile bad promotion is still promotion
the more we talk, the more audience gat to know about "metro"

 

[lexluthermiester]

meanwhile bad promotion is still promotion
the more we talk, the more audience gat to know about "metro"

You'd think that, but people are tired of drama and BS. In this case "bad promotion" is still bad, just like Fallout '76. Sales tanked once the news about how bad it was started making the rounds.

 

[bajs11]

well people here in the West should be boycotting Russian products after their attempts to manipulate elections in several western countries
so yeah no more Metro games for me at least

 

[sepheronx]

well people here in the West should be boycotting Russian products after their attempts to manipulate elections in several western countries
so yeah no more Metro games for me at least

This must be a joke.

The whole Russiagate thing is a huge joke to begin with.

And let me remind you how US attempts, attempted and even worked on Russian elections back in 1996. Or how about Venezuela now?

So that is the most stupid excuse I have heard.

Maybe it hasn't also occurred to you yet that A4 games isn't in Russia, eh?

 

[Vayra86]

You're going out of context again. Comparing apples to oranges mean anything to you?

No not really. There are lots of commercial things you dont control and have to live with, and yet, you dont see this kind if outrage over essentially minor things elsewhere. What you see is people vote with their wallet. I have yet to see that here. I think its much ado about nothing.

except epic is playing dirty there not interested in giving developers a piece of the pie

here is how this is gonna go for the people that don't get it

epic is gonna offer a tasty agreement to get devs signed on, then once they have signed away there rights there gonna ratchet the percent they take right up to the limit

epic is not the good guy here there the bad guys there playing dirty because they want a piece of the digital distribution pie and if you think for a nano second they give two fucks about the developers you obviously understand very little

And lord Gaben is any different? Where's that HL3 at, by the way? Oh yeah... Steam was enough of a cash cow, it was too much effort for him as he was swimming in money from a 30% cut.

....

 

[lexluthermiester]

well people here in the West should be boycotting Russian products after their attempts to manipulate elections in several western countries

Let's keep unproven politics out of this.

so yeah no more Metro games for me at least

And there's a choice. It has nothing to do with the topic, but it does show someone voting with their wallet.

No not really.

Yes, really.

What you see is people vote with their wallet.

Then you're not paying attention.