While this might not be specific to Linux gaming, it's still something interesting I've wanted to talk about. Metro Exodus from 4A Games and Deep Silver has jumped ship from Steam to the Epic Store.
I waited for the situation to become clear before saying anything on this, as it got a little…ugly.
Last night, the team behind Metro Exodus announced the change saying that "the digital PC version of Metro Exodus will now be available to purchase solely through EpicGames.com". In their official announcement, nothing about it being a timed exclusive was mentioned and so a lot of people were left quite unhappy.
This led Valve, to actually put out a statement on the Steam store page, which reads:
Notice: Sales of Metro Exodus have been discontinued on Steam due to a publisher decision to make the game exclusive to another PC store.
The developer and publisher have assured us that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam, and Steam owners will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam.
We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period. We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know.
Soon after this, the Metro team put up an announcement on Steam where it does actually mention that Metro Exodus will come back to Steam "after 14th February 2020". To do this so close to release, feels really off.
I've seen a lot of arguments both for and against the Epic Store across the net, with wildly varying opinions on each side of the argument. For gamers, competition between stores can be a really good and helpful thing and we all know Steam could do with a little competition. Valve have dragged their heels on so many things over the years, I firmly hope this is a good kick up their backside to do better.
However, the way Epic is going about it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. I don't think forcing and annoying people into using another launcher is a good way to go, at all. Rather than compete on customer service, value for money, features and so on Epic are forcing people to look at them. For developers, the short-term gain might be good but do they really, honestly, expect the free to play Fortnite audience which is Epic's bread and butter to translate into sales for AAA games? I've become a lot more sceptical of this recently and I think it's largely the reason Epic is throwing money around to try and force a change.
As Epic Games continue throwing money at developers and publishers, I expect things to get even uglier as the year goes on. For us, it's not a good thing, as time and time again Epic Games have shown how little they care about Linux (we're not even on the damn roadmap) and that's sad as we will be the ones losing out.
For Valve, the more they lose like this the quicker they will need to react. I'm going to end up sounding like a broken record here, but they need to seriously get back into their own IP. Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal and so on. Especially after Artifact basically failed them, although they again said they're "Still in it for the long haul" in the most recent update to it.
Not just that, reducing their cut from developers may be inevitable too, it would certainly show they understand the market is changing considering how many developers feel Steam's 30% cut isn't worth it. The most recent "GDC State of the Industry report" showed that only six percent of developers thought Valve were doing enough for it. I don't think Valve need to match Epic on the cut either given how popular Steam already is, even a 5% reduction could be massive for smaller developers.
Linux gamers might think differently on that point though, since Valve help to fund various open source projects and that would likely reduce their ability or enthusiasm to do so. We're not a big enough audience for them to put more of their eggs in our basket—yet.
No matter what happens, I can't imagine Valve just rolling over and allowing Epic to set up shop on their lawn. I'm very curious to see what they have up their sleeves. A competitive Steam is good for everyone!
At least by the time Metro Exodus comes back to Steam, we will see if they made any sort of decision on Linux support (as they currently won't say—likely a no). If not, that's a long time for Steam Play to mature for those who use it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: johndoeThis is strange... I played both (MLL and M2033) on my Intel IRIS Pro (no nvidia - no amd) and they ran just fine - but - with steam version.
That's what I've heard, from unofficial sources. GOG didn't really clarify what happened there. Only that at least one game was submitted but never released.
Last edited by Shmerl on 29 January 2019 at 9:20 pm UTC
TobyGornow Jan 29, 2019
How pissed I was at the time but little by little, I was buying less physical copy from my brick & mortar retailer (Bankrupt today) and now I have more than 400 titles in my library just because it was cheaper. Did I do that alone ? Don't think so...
It's evolution of the market, maybe Valve has been too greedy, the new player is strong and full of arguments, who will survive ?
Quoting: tonRWait... WHAT?!! Subsidiary got more power than Parent company?!
Man, this is from 'Linux-friendly' company (or corporation?).
THQNordic tweet
ADD Quote:
QuoteThe 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. 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.
The answer is right there in your quote, "sister company", not "daughter company". Looking at the Wikipedia page for Koch Media we see this:
QuoteOn 14 February 2018, THQ Nordic announced the acquisition of Koch Media for 121 million EUR. Koch Media continues to operate as its own, separate subsidiary of THQ Nordic, and there are no plans to restructure following the acquisition, nor any cost saving measures on the horizon.[
So apparently as part of the deal to buy Koch, THQ Nordic signed some form of independence clause.
Last edited by F.Ultra on 29 January 2019 at 9:27 pm UTC
Quoting: TobyGornowJust want to add that you were forced to create a Steam account in order to play CS and Half-life when you bought the Orange Box. For me Epic is just giving Valve a taste of his own medicine.
How pissed I was at the time but little by little, I was buying less physical copy from my brick & mortar retailer (Bankrupt today) and now I have more than 400 titles in my library just because it was cheaper. Did I do that alone ? Don't think so...
It's evolution of the market, maybe Valve has been too greedy, the new player is strong and full of arguments, who will survive ?
And the exact equivalent of that would be if Epic would only sell Fortnite on the Epic Store, something that few if any here complain about.
Quoting: dannielloIt could be possible that Valve is preparing Steam Machine 2, but after failure of first initiative (with Dell cooperation) - it could be difficult. Also let be honest - Valve is too small company to subsidize Linux PC console that will be sold cheaper than production cost. Sony/Microsoft/Google/Apple are big enough to subsidize unprofitable initiatives for years - without economic threat for company, because they have plenty of income from other sources.You're probably right about the size issue, but that makes me wonder about something:
Does anybody know just how big Valve is, or how big a war chest they might be sitting on? Because they're not publicly traded, I don't think they have to tell anyone much of anything. Even their competitors may not really have much of a handle on it. Anyone have any idea?
Mohandevir Jan 29, 2019
Quoting: TobyGornowJust want to add that you were forced to create a Steam account in order to play CS and Half-life when you bought the Orange Box. For me Epic is just giving Valve a taste of his own medicine.
How pissed I was at the time but little by little, I was buying less physical copy from my brick & mortar retailer (Bankrupt today) and now I have more than 400 titles in my library just because it was cheaper. Did I do that alone ? Don't think so...
It's evolution of the market, maybe Valve has been too greedy, the new player is strong and full of arguments, who will survive ?
Yeah but nobody is complaining about Fortnite, actually or any Origins IP. It's not the same context at all. We are talking about a game that had a pre-sale campaign being removed 2 weeks before release. Timed exclusives are always bad but I can cope with that if done correctly. What just happened with Metro: Exodus is just aweful and terribly unrespectful toward Steam users, imo.
I don't think insulting people that are angry at their decision is the right way to approach this situation that they got themselves into.
https://twitter.com/kochpresse/status/1090269041476853761
Rough translation:
Quoting: @MirfalltnixeinI canceled my pre-order of Metro on Steam. Will also not buy it on the epic store. This decision is bad for the consumer. Whoever has made it should be ashamed. Well, your loss.
Quoting: @kochpresseWe will not further comment on that you find your decision not to buy "on the epic store" "bad". Have a great day and best regards.
It doesn't sound as snappy in English but it really is in German ...
Quoting: F.UltraIMO, possibly due to Austrian company registration law or tax-related issue makes it hard for THQn to fully controls and commands.Quoting: tonRWait... WHAT?!! Subsidiary got more power than Parent company?!
Man, this is from 'Linux-friendly' company (or corporation?).
THQNordic tweet
ADD Quote:
QuoteThe 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. 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.
The answer is right there in your quote, "sister company", not "daughter company". Looking at the Wikipedia page for Koch Media we see this:
QuoteOn 14 February 2018, THQ Nordic announced the acquisition of Koch Media for 121 million EUR. Koch Media continues to operate as its own, separate subsidiary of THQ Nordic, and there are no plans to restructure following the acquisition, nor any cost saving measures on the horizon.[
So apparently as part of the deal to buy Koch, THQ Nordic signed some form of independence clause.
- GoG is DRM-free.
- Humble gives to charity.
- Itch is open-ended.
- Epic takes hostages.
Nevertheless Jan 29, 2019
Epic managed to make Valve look naive and greedy, they speak of openness and fairness, but their methods are quite the opposite.
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