Metro Exodus Exits Steam for a Year, Moves to Epic Games Store

Highly anticipated post-apocalyptic survival horror game Metro Exodus has become the latest major title to exit Steam and move to Epic Games Store. The game's PC version had been available for pre-order on Steam and the developers will honour pre-orders of those who purchased the game there, but it's not available for purchase on Steam any more. A notice has appeared on the Metro Exodus Steam page, where Valve has criticised this development. Metro Exodus has also received a discount on Epic Games Store. In the US, Metro Exodus retails for $50 (roughly Rs. 3,600) on Epic Games Store as opposed to $60 (roughly Rs. 4,300) on Steam before it was removed.

The pricing for Metro Exodus on Steam in India was Rs. 1,179, but on Epic Games Store it is $20 (roughly Rs. 1,400) for the standard edition. This is a small increase and shouldn't affect most people considering the game is still much cheaper on PC in India (just like The Division 2) when compared to other regions. Metro Exodus' release date on PC, PS4, and Xbox One is February 15, 2019. This game is the sequel to Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light. Metro Exodus uses Denuvo DRM on PC. Earlier, we'd also confirmed that Metro Exodus won't release on disc on the Xbox One in India.

In a post on Steam, publisher Deep Silver confirmed this development. It said those who have pre-ordered the game on Steam will be able to play Metro Exodus on February 15, 2019. Those who pre-ordered the Gold Edition of Metro Exodus on Steam will get expansion pass content as and when it releases, along with any other pre-order bonuses for both games. Players who bought the standard edition already on Steam will also be able to buy the expansion pass when it releases later.

Those who have pre-ordered Metro Exodus essentially have nothing to worry about in terms of the content release cycle. Deep Silver also confirmed that Metro Exodus will return to Steam and other PC storefronts after February 14, 2020. This means that Metro Exodus is exclusive to the Epic Games Store for one year after its release.

Valve was clearly not happy about this development. A notice appeared on the Metro Exodus page on Steam, which reads: “Notice: Later today, sales of Metro Exodus will be discontinued on Steam due to a publisher decision to make the game exclusive to another PC store. The developer and publisher have assured us that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam, and Steam owners will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam.”

Valve went on to add what it thinks of Metro Exodus moving to Epic Games Store. “We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period. We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know,” the Valve notice reads.

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