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Austrian publisher THQ Nordic claim that they had nothing to do with the decision to make Metro Exodus an exclusive for Epic Store. Their statement comes just a day after Deep Silver and Epic Games announced which all but removes the upcoming shooter from Steam.
In their statement, THQ Nordic explained that the Metro IP is owned by Koch Media, who are the parent company of publisher Deep Silver. This means that Koch Media, as the owner of Metro franchise makes all the decisions including the deal with Epic Games.
"The decision to publish Metro Exodus as a timed Epic Store exclusive was made entirely on Koch Media’s side as Metro is their intellectual property," THQ Nordic said in their statement.
THQ Nordic refused to comment on the deal as Koch Media is their sister company but they didn't exclude the possibility of timed exclusives for their upcoming games. While THQ Nordic would be open to potential deals with Epic or other distributors, they want to listen to players and their wishes and offer their games to "as many outlets as possible".
The company's official Twitter even responded to one Twitter user who claimed that THQ Nordic should be able to tell their own subsidiaries what to do. They said that headquarters allow their network of companies to "make their own decisions without the chain of command".
Judging by their statement, THQ Nordic didn't really bother to interfere with Koch Media's plans but at the same time, it looks like they would do the deal a bit differentčy and maybe try to offer Metro Exodus on multiple distribution platforms.
For those unfamiliar with THQ Nordic's background, the company acquired Koch Media for €121 million back in February 2018 in a deal which also included publisher Deep Silver and publishing rights for the Metro franchise.
The rights to Metro games were previously acquired by Deep Silver from THQ, an American publisher and developer after they declared bankruptcy and began liquidation. In June 2014, Nordic Games announced the acquisition of THQ trademark, allowing them to publish games under THQ Nordic name.
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