It’s no secret that Metro Exodus has been under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons of late, However, the most recent decision by the game’s developer, 4A Games, to allow the game the be pre-loaded on Steam is actually raising the eyebrows of many.
To be precise, 4A Games confirmed via its official Twitter account (@MetroVideoGame) that Steam users who pre-ordered the game back before it switched platforms to Epic Games Store will be able to pre-load the game. With more announcements related to the game to follow.
Pre-loading games prior to their official launch is not a new concept. The practice is widely and universally accepted by gamers alike, as the feature basically allows those with slower connections and internet speeds to download massive game files. Saving said gamers the pain and many hours of downloading the game at launch.
Just to confirm – Metro Exodus pre-load for existing Steam pre-order customers WILL HAPPEN, and we will announce expected start time in due course.
— Metro Exodus (@MetroVideoGame) February 12, 2019
The biggest, if not greatest irony in this situation is that while the game will now be a timed exclusive on the Epic Games Store, 4A Games has said (also via Twitter) that it has no intentions of allowing pre-loading on the platform.
To recap, Metro Exodus was originally supposed to have been released on Valve’s Steam platform. The game’s publisher, Deep Silver, then made a last minute decision to instead release the game on the Epic Games Store. Primarily because of the 88% cut it is willing to give to developers.
Will it also be on the epic store I wonder?
— subwolf21 (@subwolfgaming) February 12, 2019
As one would expect, the outcry and backlash from gamers who had pre-ordered the game a year prior on Steam were understandable. To date, the incident led to several retaliations, with gamers actually review bombing the last two Metro titles over Deep Silver’s decision. Followed by the publisher actually making an indirect and subtle threat, saying that the franchise may not see another sequel should its latest title fail to sell on the PC.
(Source: Techspot)
