For nylig blev det afsløret at Metro Exodus-udgiveren Deep Silver har indgået i et partnerskab med Epic Games, og at spillet bliver eksklusivt tilgængeligt via Epic Games Store i en begrænset men længere periode. Dette har delt vandene blandt PC-brugere, og nogle har valgt ligefrem at "review-bombe" de andre Metro-spil på Steam i protest.
Spørger man dog Epic-chefen Tim Sweeney, så er det at sikre eksklusive aftaler med udviklere en ret legitim måde at konkurrere på. I en række beskeder på hans officielle Twitter-konto har han sagt følgende:
"The whole thesis here is that stores should be free to compete, and gamers and developers should be free to use stores of their choosing, which is exactly what is happening here today. Surely competition between stores is healthy, especially when it results in significant savings for developers (30% vs 12%), which can then be reinvested in future games or passed on to gamers."
"Love us or hate us, we are certainly fostering economic competition between stores, out of a firm belief that this will ultimately benefit all developers and gamers. A store can only succeed in overturning the 30% fee precedent if it provides solid reasons for everyone to use it, developers and gamers alike. Free game giveaways, better prices, and exclusives are the big things here."
Hvad synes du om Sweeneys pointer?