Earlier this month, we learned that Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 would forgo Steam in favor of the Epic Game store, making it the first huge AAA property to drop Valve’s storefront for the Fortnite publisher. As it turns out, a different AAA title will beat The Division 2 in terms of launch date: Metro Exodus will be available exclusively on the Epic Games store February 15.
“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,” Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement. Epic gives developers 88 percent of each sale on its game store, and the studio hasn’t missed a beat in reminding people of that figure as the store continues to nab exclusivity deals.
Deep Silver CEO Klemens Kundratitz also referenced that the significantly better revenue split played a large role in the decision to partner with Epic. “We are delighted to partner with Epic to bring the digital PC version of Metro Exodus to market,” he said. “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. 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.
Interestingly, the standard edition of Metro Exodus will retail for $50 on the Epic Games store, 10 bucks less than the console versions of the game. A pre-order of the Gold edition ($85) includes a digital code for Metro 2033 Redux, along with the expansion pass. Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux will be available for purchase on the Epic Games store sometime this year as well.
Though exclusive to the Epic Games store, if you already pre-ordered Metro Exodus from Steam, you’ll still get your copy of the game from the Valve service.
Now that the Epic Games store is no longer just securing indie exclusivity, it’s abundantly clear that Steam is up against a formidable competitor. The Epic Games store has been around for less than two months, and large, AAA dominoes are starting to fall. Metro Exodus could fittingly mark the true beginning of a Steam exodus.
