Metro Exec On Epic Games Store Exclusives: "We Should Welcome Epic And Their Business Model"

Metro Exodus was among the first big-name games that skipped Steam in favor of releasing exclusively on the Epic Games Store. This announcement upset some portion of the audience, in part because the game was up for pre-order on Steam before the switch was made. Those who pre-ordered on Steam had their orders honored, but the move still caused some controversy.

In an interview with GI.biz, Koch Media CEO Klemens Kundratitz said his company's deal with Epic did indeed cause "some ripples," but overall he is "very happy" with how the game is performing commercially.

"Overall, I'm still of the opinion like I was at the beginning that, as an industry and as a publisher, we should welcome Epic and their business model," he said. "We have a strong relationship with Epic and we continue to have a strong relationship with Steam as well."

One sour spot for Kundratitz was the timing of the announcement. He said he wished his company could have revealed the news sooner. "That was not perfect," he said.

Looking forward, Kundratitz said Koch Media--which owns Deep Silver and itself is owned by THQ Nordic AB--will continue to consider more Epic exclusivity deals in the future. The company does not have a "no Steam" policy, as it will release the game Iron Harvest on Steam in September.

Part of the reason why Koch cut a deal with Epic for Metro Exodus was because the Epic Games Store pays more to publishers. Steam typically gives 70 percent of game revenue to publishers, while the Epic Games Store pays 88 percent. "We need to embrace a digital partner that offers a much more compelling rev share model than anybody else, and I think they act as a role model for us and for other digital partners as well--a 70/30 split is quite frankly anachronistic," he said.

Back in February, Kundratitz said much the same when it was revealed that Metro Exodus was leaving Steam for Epic. "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.

Metro Exodus skipping Steam did not appear to hurt the game's sales. THQ Nordic announced in May that Metro Exodus sold 2.5 times more copies than Metro: Last Light did during its PC launch window. Exodus recouped all development and marketing costs shortly after launch.

In other news about the Epic Games Store, Ubisoft recently explained why it no longer releases games on Steam, which the company says has an "unrealistic" business model.