Metro Exodus, the long-awaited third game in the well-regarded Metro 2033 saga, is out soon and looking fantastic, but it’s had a rough time in the press over the last couple of weeks. Ever since the game’s publisher announced that Metro Exodus on PC would be pulled from Steam in favor of the Epic Games Store, fans have not been happy, and even threatened to boycott the PC version altogether. A member of the game’s team received criticism for their comments on this issue, and now Metro Exodus developer 4A Games has stepped in to defend them.
The team member, called “Scynet” on Russian gaming forum Gameru.net, commented (via Google Translate, so the translation was already quite spotty) about the potential boycott by PC players of the Epic Games Store. He said, “if all PC players announce a boycott of Metro Exodus, then the next Metro, if it does happen, will definitely not be on the PC.” This was reposted several places, and was frequently misread as a threat and reported as such, when a read of the full comment makes it clearly seem like a frustrated developer venting their concerns on a public forum.
Now Metro Exodus developer 4A Games has stepped in officially to clarify these comments, and to defend Scynet. It makes things clear that the decision to put the PC version of Metro Exodus on Epic Games Store exclusively was solely down to Koch Media/Deep Silver. While it says that Scynet’s comments “do not reflect Deep Silver’s or 4A Games’ view on the future of the franchise,” it however notes that those comments “reflect the hurt and disappointment of a passionate individual who has seen what was previously nothing but positive goodwill towards his work turn to controversy due to a business decision he had no control over.”
The statement concludes with a plea that any “feedback” regarding this decision should be directed at publisher Koch Media, not developer 4A Games, and the confirmation that the next Metro game will definitely receive a PC version no matter what. “We have every intention of continuing this franchise, and a PC version will always be at the heart of our plans.”
