In a recent interview with GamesIndustry, Klemens Kundratitz, the CEO of Deep Silver parent Koch Media, acknowledged that making Metro Exodus an Epic Games Store exclusive "caused some ripples," but said that Koch is "very happy with the commercial results so far," and might even do it again—with one slight change.
"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," Kundratitz said. "We have a strong relationship with Epic and we continue to have a strong relationship with Steam as well. It's just a shame that we couldn't announce this collaboration earlier. That was not perfect."
Kundratitz' statement reflects what Epic said in March, when it noted that despite the vocal unhappiness of some fans, Metro Exodus sold 2.5 times better on the Epic Games Store than Metro: Last Light did on Steam. It was an imperfect comparison—both the Metro series and the PC gaming audience are much larger now than they were in 2013, when Last Light came out—but it did help drive home the point that launching exclusively on EGS was not necessarily a kiss of death in a Steam-dominated world.
Kundratitz also echoed recent comments by Paradox Interactive chairman Frederik Wester, who said in July that the 70/30 revenue split offered by Steam is "outrageous."
"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.
"We have many games on Steam, including many new releases like Iron Harvest. "But I'm not ruling out to do an exclusive with Epic again."
Perhaps with the next Metro game—which, in case you hadn't heard, is in the works. The Metro Exodus DLC The Two Colonels went live on the Epic Games Store (and Steam) earlier this month.
