Question Metro Exodus developer flips out, threatens PC gamers - Tweaktown

[JPB]

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/64703/metro-exodus-developer-flips-threatens-pc-gamers/index.html

The entire Metro Exodus moving from Steam to the Epic Store scandal is enough for me to not support 4A Games, so I've been staying out of the stories and letting the games news writers Jak and Derek handle it all. But then this news broke out on the weekend and I'm the only one writing news right now, so here we go.

4A Games is having a full on dummy spit moving Metro Exodus hastily from the Steam store to the new Epic Store where it will make more money per sale, which is great for them, but a super dick move towards Valve that has been marketing Metro Exodus for what feels like years now. Anyway, now the Metro developer is throwing shade at the PC gaming market threatening that if Metro Exodus bombs on the PC we most likely won't see future Metro titles on the PC as the developer would seemingly go console exclusive.

How did this happen? One of the 4A Games developers posted on Russian board 'GAMEINATOR' where he touched on the review bombing of Metro Exodus on Steam make the developer hurt that it was trying to make a great game. Yeah, alright. The developer pushed a narrative that if Metro Exodus bombs in sales on the PC because of these review bombings on Steam, future Metro games (if there are any) will most likely not arrive on the PC.

The developer said:

I watched the bubbling. Impressions are twofold. On the one hand, the withdrawal from Steam is ambiguous, so no one has done so sharply (as far as I can tell). This is new, which could cause rejection. Yes, and such a move pulls the need to install the Epic launcher, which could cause some inconvenience to the players, and therefore cause discontent.

On the other hand, the reaction of a certain category of players is hardly adequate. It seems that people did not want to play, just waited for a reason to pour out their bile. That is, it turns out that we (the developers) for years have been hard and painful, with losses, trying to do something special, but a certain category of players believes that our work is not worth even a couple of minutes to install the launcher. Naturally, it is their life and their right, but then what do they care about Metro? Obviously, it is not interesting to them. I can only say that they were not our players either, they are not interested in our work, which means that, for example, the opinion of such people is not interesting for me either.

What is the point for me personally (and not only) to listen to their opinion? But! Consider the situation deeper. Someone says that if they crap Exodus and the previous games in the series, it will make the world better, they will put greedy developers in their place. To this, I can answer that in a pinch, if all the PC players announce a boycott of Metro Exodus, then the next Metro, if it does, is definitely not going to be on the PC. Better or worse, decide for yourself. I personally feel sorry for the loyal fans, yes. But my assessment of the work done personally by me and my friends and colleagues will not change this. I firmly know that almost everyone who pours this dirt on the net is also incapable of a bit of what we have done and hopefully do more. And that means they have no idea what they are talking about.

And further. Despite the fact that during the development I went through each level of each game, hell knows how many times, it is interesting for me to play Metro. I went through the previous parts completely and more than once, and now I am going to go through the whole PC version, to which we make the final touches. For me, this is already a tradition, I always replay the game completely before release. It allows you to evaluate the work done.

What is it for me? I remember the words of the Prof, which I have heard more than once, both from myself and on the Internet - the game must be made for myself, so that you like it first. And only now do I begin to understand this fully - no clever man can shake me about the value of the work that we have done. And there will always be disgruntled.

Metro Exodus launches on February 15 on Xbox One and PC and the only reason I'll be buying it is for benchmarking from a technological perspective, I almost don't want to test it all out of spite - and I think that is going to grow on me over the next two weeks. 4A Games really needs to come out and address this in a very calm manner, or the entire PC gaming community will bury them.

Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/64703/metro-exodus-developer-flips-threatens-pc-gamers/index.html

Sounds to me like extortion....Either kiss their rear and buy Metro through Epic "which im not against"....or no more PC Metro games ?

 

[JPB]

Mods. please move this thread accordingly. Somehow it got put in the wrong area.

 

[Artorias]

Most of these decisions are done by the publisher and they should get torn apart for this move. No matter how much bribe money Epic paid them you cant replace the Steam user base overnight.

With comments like that they are further digging their own grave.

I wonder how Valve feels being used in such a way, the game was marketed on their site for years and then its gone.

 

[StrangerGuy]

I wish I could but I just can't care, already too deadened by the constant bombardment of online drama these days from just about everybody.

 

[ImpulsE69]

the dev should be fired, and hope the new metro burns in a dumpster fire. If at this point you can't figure out what you are doing wrong, you deserve to go bankrupt. These companies constantly assume people 'can't live without' their product. Too much blaming the customer due to greed. And yes, it is greed, maybe not by the devs, but at least by the publishers.

 

[zink77]

I wonder how Valve feels being used in such a way, the game was marketed on their site for years and then its gone.

Valve was the original theif and walled garden purveyor let's remember, they basically forced drm into half-life cs to launch their billion dollar steam store off the back of a piece of stolen software. AKA up until that point we had dedicated server exe's and level editors and the game ran stand alone until patched with drm and 'turned into' a 'platform' just another moniker for stolen game software you don't control.

 

[quikah]

I don't get the controversy. They want to sell it on Epic store because they will make more money. Meh, never understand the adoration people have for steam, it is just another piece of software that I only run when I need to play a game I got from that store, just like origin, uplay, etc.

 

[ImpulsE69]

It's not adoration, it's the principal it represents.
First it was Steam
Then it was GOG
Then it was Uplay
Then EA
Then MS
Now Epic

etc...

Just no. I don't need a different front end (which is bloatware advertising and tracking basically) for every freaking game.

One place with everything. That simple. Nothing to really think about. Or, better yet....quit forcing me to a storefront (which isn't going to happen). The closest to that is Steam. If Origin had come out 15 years ago and my collection was there, then I'd be the same way with them.

You are correct, there is nothing wrong with them wanting to make more money, just as there is nothing wrong with me not supporting their decision. The difference is, this guy is trying to blame the consumer. No, the fault is your business decision that clearly many people don't agree with. It's no different than consoles. Few people buy every console, every game. They pick and choose. The difference here is it is fake forced segregation.

 

[KB]

It's not adoration, it's the principal it represents.
First it was Steam
Then it was GOG
Then it was Uplay
Then EA
Then MS
Now Epic

etc...

Just no. I don't need a different front end (which is bloatware advertising and tracking basically) for every freaking game.

One place with everything. That simple. Nothing to really think about. Or, better yet....quit forcing me to a storefront (which isn't going to happen). The closest to that is Steam. If Origin had come out 15 years ago and my collection was there, then I'd be the same way with them.

....

Yeah this is getting ridiculous. I don't want another app and another username/password just to play another game. I am starting to wonder if physical media might make a comeback.

 

[KMFJD]

Meh...not a big deal imo, i wasn't a fan of steam at first and still not a fan to be quite honest. I also find Origin and Epic store programs themselves to run much better than steam which is still clunky and slow

 

[TechBoyJK]

xx

 

[KMFJD]

I also don't see why Valve should have a cut of in game sales, that's a major reason for the companies leaving as well.

 

[quikah]

I also don't see why Valve should have a cut of in game sales, that's a major reason for the companies leaving as well.

They are maintaining the store infrastructure. Same reason Target or Walmart or Amazon gets a cut of sales. It is a reasonable expectation. 30% is excessive to me though, I am sure a lot of devs will be tempted to launch on Epic store since they have a lower cut. Same thing happened on Android with Fortnight, Epic didn't want to pay 30% to google so they went around them.

 

[aigomorla]

sigh..

i am not installing another platform to play a game.
I am tired of having 4already...

Steam (you just cant get rid of when you already have a library of over 200 games on it... unless the other vendors allow me to migrate my library to there platform, steam is going to perm stay until either i pass away, or the company goes belly up.)

Origin ( i was forced to go on this because of mass effect... honestly my origin library only has a couple of games and thats it.... its not even on all the time, and i can honestly say i probably went on it very little last year, and probably this year.... well unless someone can convince me Anthem is worth it, which to me seems like its going to flomp.)

Uplay ( again forced because if you by ubisoft from steam, they make you load uplay... so i really cant say this was intensional as steam itself made me do it.)

Battle.net ( ugh... again on very little, only had it for the season of Diablo3, and Destiny 2 which was a major disappointment. I dont see myself going on battle.net for the reast of this year also, as i am not a fan of Overwatch or WoW, or Warcraft / Starcraft series in general)

Epic... no way... forget it.. i'll pass on metro and they can just kill the series entirely. To be honest, the first one was epic... the second one was meh... and i have a feeling if the dev's want to be little excuse my beeps here but *BEEPS*, they wont listen to the audience or play base, they will say our machines are messed up if we have a bugs and they dont want to fix, and quite honestly if you want to stay in business you need to have a bit of a thick skin, and learn to accept rants / insults and see if you can fix upon it.


There going to console only?
Go ahead.... but they are going to lose a lot of revenue on the PC gaming side.
Also you are forced to buy the game on a PC. Unless u are origin with Origin Access, want to play? You need to buy.. there is no rent.

You can Rent on a console. Red Box makes a lot on renting console games, that is why they do it.. a lot of people rent games now, and just do not buy, unless it has a lot of replay-ability.
Odds are for games like Metro, more people will rent it, as once they finish the story, they will not play or again, or go back to it again.

 

[whm1974]

Good Grief, if I was PC game developer/publisher I will certainly make my games available on Steam. I would be a fool not to, especially since I would have Linux versions available.

 

[DeathReborn]

To be frank, I am still waiting for the "retail" costs decrease to be passed on. I use Steam, Origin, GoG Galaxy, uPlay & Battle.net and it doesn't bother me much (Origin still has issues though) so adding the Epic store wasn't too much hassle (the installer is straight out of the dark ages though). They should have handled removing it from steam much better, offered refunds, kept selling it with the knowledge it would cost more on Steam and require EGS to play.

They should stay quiet and use a PR agency though, they're not doing themselves or their sales any good with these kind of outbursts.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Makes no difference to me as I never planned to buy this game anyway. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was the best of this bunch (not made by them but seems to be what Metro games got their ideas from)

I hate having all these different store fronts/launchers on my PC. Steam I like, and I use ubiplay, origin and several others. I'll use Epic as well down the road if it is the only place to get a game I want BUT I think just like stores across the country...all the games should be released on all the current steam type platforms. Then everyone can buy the game on the platform they want. I'd just stick to steam but maybe other people would use another service.

I mean if I want a game and head over the gamestop and it is out of stock, I just run over to Target, Walmart, Fry's, Best buy, etc until i find it. Everyone sells games in store so why not online with steam and others like it?

 

[quikah]

Makes no difference to me as I never planned to buy this game anyway. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was the best of this bunch (not made by them but seems to be what Metro games got their ideas from)

Metro series is an adaptation of the Russian Metro 2033 novel.

 

[Rifter]

Honestly all this drama and different storefronts in gaming now, not just metro/epic, is going to do is drive people to piracy.

Not even because of the money savings but just do to not having the hassle of dealing with crap DRM and data mining storefronts from each different dev/studio.

It truly is getting out of hand, and as per usual its the paying customers that deal with it not the pirates. The major studios really need to wake the hell up.

 

[ImpulsE69]

People who care are a dying breed. Way too many addicted apologists out there for anti-consumer practices. In all goods, not just gaming.

 

[Artorias]

CEO Strauss Zelnick of Take Two Interactive gives some reassuring comments about how they wont go exclusive on the PC platform.

This is good if your looking forward to the PC release of RDR2.

"We think it's very difficult to try and attract consumers only through a wholly owned captive site," he tells us.

"That's not how consumers shop. To use an analogy that doesn't speak to our business, if you read Random House books, I presume you can get them directly through Random House, but you probably don't. You probably go to Amazon or other sites. So if you have something incredibly powerful, then I suppose you can say to consumers that it's only available here. But generally speaking, when it comes to broad-based entertainment offerings, you are better placed to be where the consumer is, rather than indicating to the consumer where they need to be. If your focus is solely on capturing retail margin, then you have to be very convinced you're going to be a great retailer. That's not something that's in our DNA. We make entertainment. We're really not a retailer."

As for the Epic Store: "From our point of view, we don't see another retailer as a disruption. We want to be where the consumer is, and if there's a competitive offering that benefits consumers, generally speaking, if the business model makes sense for us, we will support it. We want to be where the consumer is. We see competition on the retail side to be a good thing. It just means more distribution."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...ceo-on-epic-store-competition-is-a-good-thing

 

[WhiteNoise]

Metro series is an adaptation of the Russian Metro 2033 novel.

I didn't know that! That said I think everyone can admit the two games look a lot a like; style wise.

 

[Igo69]

I am boycotting this game until they release it on Steam or free of other software like they did with Witcher 3. I said it before and I say it again if it's not on steam I am not buying it, I don't want nor i need to install another useless software just to play 1 game!

 

[ibex333]

The idea here is that the publisher or the devs.(I dont care who's fault it is, they need to figure it out among themselves) betrayed the loyal Steam playerbase. Myself, and others like me who are devoted fans of this franchise are used to Steam. We want Steam or nothing. Steam, because it's convenient, all of our games are already there, and we like the platform.

I don't want to use EPIC, Origin, U-Play or any of that junk. I want Steam. and if the devs don't like it, they can go kick a stuffed "dark one" toy, along with their product.

The end user(player) always wins as long as there's torrents. This way people get to play the damn game AND show a big, fat, middle finger to the publisher/devs. It's OK if the METRO franchise dies. There's plenty of young, talented, and willing developers willing to fill in any voids that open up. There will be a better METRO, S.T.A.L.K.E.R and the like in the future... Another Steam platform that will do such as good job as Steam is doing? I am not sure about that.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Yeah, I find if kind of pathetic what this developer is stating. He/she has way too much of an entitled attitude. As has been stated, there are way too many people out there who are sick and tired of yet another digital software distribution platform for games. Does that mean no one should create such a thing? No. A company is free to try and create another one, but the market is already speaking staying that there are too many out there. And then for that company to basically say if you don't buy our game on our platform it has to be because you weren't our customers anyway in the first place and thus your opinion and reason why you didn't buy it doesn't matter is pure BS. How about this, put your game out on Steam and charge more for it there, and put it out on your own platform and charge less for it there (since you can as you don't have to give 30% to Valve), and let the "market" decide how they want to get your game.

I am sure there will be people who don't mind setting up yet another game distribution service to save a couple bucks. And I am sure there are plenty of others who won't...