Loyal Steam users were in for quite a shocker a couple of days ago, when they were treated to the news that publisher Deep Silver is not releasing Metro Exodus on the platform, and has instead signed an exclusivity deal with the new Epic Games Store, just a few days from the title"s launch. Needless to say, gamers have not responded to this information well and have begun review-bombing other Metro games on Steam.
Following Deep Silver"s controversial decision, hordes of angry gamers have taken to the store pages of other Metro games. Steam"s review bombing filters have detected negative reviews on all other Metro titles recently, with almost all of them nosediving to "Mostly Negative Recent Reviews".
For example, only 32% of the nearly 2,000 recent Metro 2033 Redux reviews have been positive, with Metro Last Light Redux facing similar treatment at 30%. This is in stark contrast to previous reviews where the game has been lauded for its mechanics and story. Since the language in most reviews would violate Neowin"s profanity guidelines, an example of a relatively toned down review can be viewed below:
This is one of my favorite series (both book and game) of all time....
And now it"s being sold as an exclusive to a different store. I have nothing against it being on EPIC in addition to Steam, but their publisher got handed a huge chunk of Fortnite cash without the Dev"s say. This is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ business practice, if you want to compete with Steam, use that money to make a service as good as it, not buying exclusives. Even Valve doesn"t stoop this low. I hope you"re happy with yourselves.
This is not the first time gamers have united against a publisher in this manner. A few months ago, Shadow of the Tomb Raider was review-bombed on Steam for going on sale too soon after launch. It is this writer"s own humble opinion as well that Deep Silver skipping Steam like this is highly despicable, as the publisher essentially used the platform as a free storefront and then jumped ship when it got an exclusivity deal, without any prior indication.
What are your thoughts on this debacle? Let us know in the comments section below!