Metro Exodus is finally coming to Steam one year after its Epic Games store debut

Metro Exodus is finally coming to Steam, after its sudden departure in the weeks leading up to its initial release date last year.

The official Metro Twitter account confirmed that Metro Exodus will hit Steam on February 15, one year to the day after it first came out on Epic Games store and consoles. Take note of the fact that the Tweet specifically calls this out as a "return" - which is accurate, since Metro Exodus had a Steam listing and even took pre-orders on the digital platform up until it was abruptly removed.

The reason for Metro Exodus' exodus was a late-breaking exclusivity agreement with the Epic Games store. Publisher Deep Silver took responsibility for the decision, saying at the time that it was "based on the goal of investing in the future of the series and our development partner at 4A Games." Deep Silver also said that agreement with Epic was why it was able to charge $50 for the game on PC rather than the usual $60.

Shortly after Metro Exodus' removal from Steam, Valve itself posted a message on the game's page explaining why it had disappeared. Valve called the decision to remove the game "unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period". There's been a lot of consternation over Epic Games store exclusives in the last year or two, but the complexity of the situation around Metro Exodus is probably the worst it's ever been (with the possible exception of Shenmue 3).

Deep Silver has never commented on how well Metro Exodus sold on Epic Game store, but at least now we'll be able to get a hint at how well the Steam version does based on its concurrent player count.

See what else is on the way with our guide to the upcoming games of 2020 and beyond.