Bad_Durandal
Since launching in December, the Epic Games Store has made strides in establishing themselves as a viable competitor to other digital storefronts including GOG.com and Steam. The store’s biggest power move has been how it handles revenue split, which gives game developers a much larger piece of their game’s revenue than on other platforms. Understandably, this has turned a few industry heads, most recently being Metro: Exodus publisher Deep Silver, who recently announced the Soviet horror-shooter will be an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC.
In a statement released earlier today, Deep Silver CEO Klemens Kundratitz directly cited the Epic Games Store’s revenue share as a reason for the exclusivity.
“We are partnering with Deep Silver to launch Metro Exodus, underpinned by Epic’s marketing support and commitment to offering an 88 percent revenue split, enabling game creators to further reinvest in building great games and improving the economics of game stores for everybody.”
Deep Silver has also stated that pre-orders for Metro: Exodus on Steam will still be honored, though the game won’t be available to pre-order on that storefront for much longer. That having been said, Metro: Exodus will be getting a $10 discount on Epic’s store, making it $50 compared to Steam’s full $59.99 pre-order price. So if you’re looking to save a few bucks, the Epic Games Store might be the way to go.
Interestingly, Metro: Exodus’ exclusivity is timed. According to a second Deep Silver press release issued today, Metro: Exodus is set to release on Steam and other platforms after February 14, 2020. Of course by that time, the game will have seen a majority of its sales on Epic’s storefront, making the timed exclusivity a calculated business move that doesn’t cut off a wider audience forever.
With Metro: Exodus being of the biggest PC releases of 2019, this is a big move from the Epic Games store that further cements them as a legitimate contender in the ongoing digital storefront war raging on PC platforms. But as someone who prizes simplicity, I’m reticent to say that yet another storefront in an already crowded market is a good thing, even taking into consideration Epic’s superior revenue share compared to other platforms.
Either way, it will be interesting to see what effect, if any, this has on Metro: Exodus‘ sales, and what that might mean for both the series and the Epic Games store going forward.
Metro: Exodus is set to release February 15, 2019 on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms.
