Metro Exodus will be released exclusively on the Epic Games Store on Feb. 15, publisher Deep Silver and storefront owner Epic Games announced Monday. The game will launch for $49.99 in North America, and €59.99 in most European countries.
This means that Windows PC customers will not be able to buy
Metro Exodus through Steam at launch,
despite the game’s listing on Steam advertising pre-orders. “Any customer with an outstanding pre-order for
Metro Exodus on PC through any digital retailer will receive their game as expected,” the announcement states.
Both Deep Silver and Epic Games used the announcement to highlight to the higher revenue split developers and publishers earn through the Epic Games Store,
with 88 percent of the sale price going to the developer, compared to the 70 percent cut that developers and publishers earn through Steam. Both parties are painting this decision as a win for fans of the series by arguing that developers and publishers can use the higher percentage of revenue to invest back into the games.
“Epic’s generous revenue terms are a game changer that will allow publishers to invest more into content creation, or pass on savings to the players,” Deep Silver CEO Dr. Klemens Kundratitz said. “By teaming up with Epic we will be able to invest more into the future of Metro and our ongoing partnership with series developer 4A Games, to the benefit of our Metro fans.”
Ubisoft is another example of a high-profile publisher
that will skip Steam with the release of
The Division 2 on March 15, which will launch on the Epic Games Store as well as Ubisoft’s own online storefront.
We have reached out to ask if
Metro Exodus will ever be offered through Steam in the future, but have yet to hear back.
Update: Deep Silver has sent an updated version of the press release that states
Metro Exodus will return to Steam and “other store fronts” after Feb. 14, 2020.