Recently, Metro Exodus developer 4A Games revealed that its latest installment in the horror and first-person shooter franchise would be exclusively available via the Epic Store. Many, including Steam users, thought this move to be unfair, especially with how "last minute" the decision was. While pre-orders via Steam are being honored, this latest installment won't be offered on the medium any longer until 2020.

In protest of this exclusivity deal, many PC gamers began review-bombing the first two entries of the franchise, Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light. These protests have been respectful for the most part, calling the first two entries great games despite the low score, but they have also called out Deep Silver for being greedy, among other things. Due to these protests, it appears a Metro Exodus developer, publicly posting under the username Scynet, has made threats to skip PC in the future if protests continue.

Before moving forward, it's worth mentioning that Scynet's comments were translated from Russian into English and there could be some discrepancies as a result. But overall the message is clear: Scynet is not a happy camper. He expressed understanding that downloading the Epic launcher for Metro Exodus could be a slight inconvenience, but he also made it clear that he considers these protests as the result of "a certain category of players (online torrents and all that)...[that] just waited for a reason to pour out their bile."

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Scynet went on to make his stance concerning the situation very clear:

"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 the Metro?"

"To this I can answer that in a pinch, if at all all the PC players announce a boycott of the Metro, then the next Metro, if it does, is definitely not 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."

Many acknowledged that this developer made several good points, as the gaming community is known to have its toxic subdivision. That said, many also believe that Scynet is missing the point and that it's not about the launcher, the cheaper price, or the hard work put into Metro Exodus. In truth, many have argued that this could lead to a serious domino effect that brings third-party exclusivity into PC gaming.

One user noted that if this continues, the controversial Epic Store could try to have the likes of Sekiro, DMC V, The Outer Worlds, or even Cyberpunk 2077 become exclusive to its storefront. While this Metro Exodus debacle is far from over, it appears that one thing is true: many are not happy.

Metro Exodus launches on February 15, 2019, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Gameru (translation via Steam)