Metro Exodus Leaving Steam For Epic Games Store Seems Controversial Even Inside THQ

Earlier this week, publisher Deep Silver announced the PC version of Metro Exodus will be sold exclusively through the Epic Games Store--a move that Valve, the company behind Steam, decried as "unfair." THQ Nordic GmbH tried to distance itself from the controversial decision, and now THQ Nordic AB--parent company of both THQ Nordic GmbH and Deep Silver--has issued a statement in support of the move.

Following the announcement that Metro Exodus would be skipping Steam, THQ Nordic GmbH took to Twitter to explain it had no involvement in the decision. "The decision to publish Metro Exodus as a timed Epic Store exclusive was made entirely on Koch Media's side as Metro is their intellectual property. They are a sister company of THQ Nordic (Vienna), which is the reason why we can and will not comment on this matter," the company wrote.

In a follow-up tweet, THQ Nordic GmbH said: "We do not want to categorically exclude the possibility of timed exclusives for any of our games in the future, but speaking in the here and now, we definitely want to have the players choose the platform of their liking and make our portfolio available to as many outlets as possible."

Now, THQ Nordice AB, which owns THQ Nordic GmbH, released a statement of its own supporting Deep Silver's decision. "I believe it's in the group's, and ultimately the consumers', best interest that business decisions are made close to the market and this is the group's consistent business model," CEO Lars Wingefors said. "I firmly believe that Deep Silver and Koch Media have carefully considered the advantages and disadvantages, opportunities and risks in their decision to go solely with Epic Games Store. The decision has my full support."

Metro Exodus was available to pre-order on Steam before Deep Silver decided to bring it exclusively to the Epic Games Store, and while it is no longer available on Valve's storefront, any Steam pre-orders will still be honored. According to Deep Silver CEO Klemens Kundratitz, Epic's more appealing revenue split--the storefront gives developers 88% of their revenue while Epic only takes 12%--was one of the deciding factors behind the move.

"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," Kundratitz said. Indeed, in the US, the PC version of Metro Exodus will retail for $50--$10 cheaper than the $60 price tag the game carried on Steam while it was still available.

Metro Exodus isn't the only big game skipping Steam entirely. Ubisoft recently announced that The Division 2 will likewise only be available through the Epic Games Store, in addition to its own storefront.