{"id":5536,"date":"2019-02-14T13:17:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-14T13:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/?p=5536"},"modified":"2023-09-29T21:36:06","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T20:36:06","slug":"the-epic-mess-of-the-metro-exodus-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/the-epic-mess-of-the-metro-exodus-launch","title":{"rendered":"The Epic mess of the Metro Exodus launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If there\u2019s one thing anyone should know about gamers, it\u2019s that they\u2019re often passionate fans, and that enthusiasm can quickly turn into abject disappointment, disapproval and outright rage if they feel that someone, somewhere has screwed up their favourite games franchise.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You don\u2019t need to look far for examples of game developers and publishers experiencing the wrath of their communities. There\u2019s the ongoing fallout of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2019\/2\/7\/18214008\/fallout-76-updates-patch-fix-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fallout 76\u2019s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> disastrous launch. There\u2019s Blizzard\u2019s backlash after abandoning its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2018\/12\/14\/18141331\/heroes-of-the-storm-canceled-hgc-blizzard-community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heroes of the Storm<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> esports tournament. I could go on.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The point is, developers and publishers know that they\u2019re working in a volatile, and often unforgiving, environment. They should know that their communication with their fans and the media must always be clear, honest, rapid and backed-up with a strong argument. \u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The developer and publisher of first-person shooter, Metro Exodus, are experiencing the perils of confused communication right now, as they struggle to construct a narrative that fans can understand.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, what\u2019s going wrong with the launch of Metro Exodus, and how can others in the gaming industry avoid similar situations happening to them?<\/span><br \/>\n<b>Digital PC games distribution in a nutshell<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">First, a bit of a gaming primer. For the uninitiated, these days PC gamers tend to have one or more digital distribution platforms on their computer (where they can buy games digitally instead of from a traditional store). The main ones are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Steam &#8211; the most popular platform, owned by Valve (the game developer behind games like Portal and Half-Life)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Origin &#8211; owned by Electronic Arts, where PC gamers go to access all games published by EA<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Battle.net &#8211; owned by Blizzard (the developer of World of Warcraft and Destiny)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Epic Games Store &#8211; Epic is the developer of the massively popular online game Fortnite <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While Origin and Battle.net focus on serving their own fan communities, Steam acts as a more general games marketplace, and is a great place to discover smaller developers and their games. However, in December 2018, Epic decided to compete with Steam by launching a platform of its own &#8211; offering developers a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/uk\/how-the-epic-games-store-compares-to-steam-right-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bigger slice of revenue<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and tempting gamers with the promise of frequent free games.<\/span><br \/>\n<b>Metro\u2019s Exodus to Epic<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three weeks before its release date, Metro Exodus\u2019 publisher, Deep Silver, announced that the game would now be an Epic Games Store <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.ign.com\/articles\/2019\/02\/04\/the-metro-exodus-exclusivity-situation-is-a-giant-mess\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">exclusive at launch<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. People who had pre-ordered the game on Steam would still be able to play it, and they would still get all of the post-launch updates. Others who wanted to play the game on PC would have to buy it on the Epic store (the deal would be in effect for the first year after launch).<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The announcement caused an immediate backlash that played out on social media, forums and on the comment sections of many gaming news sites. Concerns centred around:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Needing to download yet another platform and remember yet another login. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Security issues with Epic. It\u2019s suffered a number of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/1\/16\/18185398\/fortnite-player-accounts-hack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">account hacks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The lack of an established trusted community at Epic. Being the newest launcher on the market, Epic doesn\u2019t have the user reviews or the forums that Steam has.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Epic\u2019s ownership. Some complaints have focused on the fact that Chinese tech giant, Tencent, owns <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/games\/2018\/oct\/28\/fortnite-company-epic-games-valued-15bn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">48% of Epic Games<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other gamers have complained about the store\u2019s customer service provision.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The general feeling is that the move reduced player choice and made it harder for people to play the game. <\/span><br \/>\n<b>The confused response from stakeholders far and wide<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The announcement came on 28th January from publisher, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.ign.com\/articles\/2019\/01\/28\/metro-exodus-digital-pc-distribution-will-be-an-epic-store-exclusive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deep Silver<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and was swiftly followed by a response from Steam (it called the move unfair). Frustrated fans started leaving negative reviews other games in the Metro franchise that were still available on Steam.<\/span><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5539 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Image-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"778\" height=\"558\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can see how Metro: Last Light Redux was well reviewed, until Deep Silver made its announcement.<\/span><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5540 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"975\" height=\"363\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shortly after the backlash started, THQ Nordic published a Tweet officially washing its hands of the decision.<\/span><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/THQNordic\/status\/1090217923434737664\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/THQNordic\/status\/1090217923434737664<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Koch Media, the organisation being blamed, is the media company that founded Deep Silver. THQ Nordic is the sister company of THQ Nordic AB (the Nordic arm of the larger publisher that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/2018\/2\/14\/17011564\/thq-nordic-koch-media-deep-silver-saints-row-homefront-dead-island\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">owns Deep Silver<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and Koch Media), but as you can imagine, it was hard for people to make the distinction between the THQ Nordic that owns Deep Silver and the one that has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.ign.com\/articles\/2019\/02\/04\/the-metro-exodus-exclusivity-situation-is-a-giant-mess\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">nothing to do with it<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This was swiftly followed by a press statement from the THQ Nordic that did own Deep Silver, and therefore had actual skin in the game. The statement supported expressed support of its sub-group\u2019s decision.<\/span><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5541 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"609\" height=\"670\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adding to the confusion of messages, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kotaku.co.uk\/2019\/02\/04\/metro-series-will-continue-on-pc-even-if-people-boycott-epic-deal-says-publisher\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">someone who works for 4A<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which develops the game, posted their thoughts on a Russian forum. They said, in part, that some people were simply using this as a reason to \u201cpour out their bile\u201d and that if enough PC players boycotted the game the franchise wouldn\u2019t be on PC in the future.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">PC gamers don\u2019t tend to respond well to threats, and took to Steam, Reddit and social media to complain about the statement.<\/span><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5542 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"801\" height=\"414\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The renewed backlash prompted Deep Silver to respond on Twitter, saying:<\/span><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5543 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"749\" height=\"587\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But this created more confusion among some fans, as it was tweeted from the game\u2019s official account, rather than that of the publisher. It wasn\u2019t until an employee confirmed it was a Deep Silver statement (on a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.resetera.com\/threads\/4a-games-developer-if-metro-exodus-does-not-sell-on-the-pc-the-next-metro-will-not-come-out-for-it-up-deep-silver-official-response.97283\/page-18#post-17533014\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">gaming forum<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">), leaving fans and the media to spread the word.<\/span><br \/>\n<b>What can brands learn from this?<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Understand your customers. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before anything else, it\u2019s vital that the business understand what its customers want and what they expect as a basic level of service. In the Metro Exodus example, the publisher could have known that there\u2019s a general level of skepticism about installing additional game launchers, and that could have informed its communications. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Trust your customers.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You may be making a decision for the good of the business, but if these reasons aren\u2019t explained, all people are left with is their original opinion of the situation. In this case, many people felt forced into downloading software they didn\u2019t want, in order to play the game they were anticipating. By being transparent about the decision-making process, and trusting customers to understand the logic behind the decisions, the brand has a better chance of creating understanding in its customer community.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Create a unified communications strategy.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> While this is an extreme example, there are often multiple stakeholders involved in decisions and their implications. You can\u2019t have one department or business telling the public one thing, while another sends out a different message. Get together and decide on a communications strategy before making your first statement. If you can\u2019t agree on your stance, how are customers meant to agree with it? <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Avoid last minute switcheroos. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you can\u2019t make a decision far enough ahead of time, perhaps it\u2019s best not to spring a last minute change on customers? If the change has to be made, communicating why the action was take is even more crucial.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When brands communicate over social media, it\u2019s easy for messages to be misread. It\u2019s also not always clear what\u2019s an official stance, and what\u2019s simply the opinion of an employee. What is clear, is that by having a clear communications strategy, one that\u2019s communicated across all stakeholders and all of their social media teams, brands can calm their online communities rather than create an atmosphere of chaos and confusion that does more damage to the brand.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If there\u2019s one thing anyone should know about gamers, it\u2019s that they\u2019re often passionate fans, and that enthusiasm can quickly turn into abject disappointment, disapproval and outright rage if they feel that someone, somewhere has screwed up their favourite games franchise. You don\u2019t need to look far for examples of game developers and publishers experiencing&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":23271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"series":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/nikita-kachanovsky-scaled.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Genuine-Humans.jpg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/3abc34c3-ff60-4a78-b347-6119461b7ed1\/GENUINE-HUMANS","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/genuine-humans\/id1561811296","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVzb2NpYWxlbGVtZW50LmFnZW5jeS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiQz-mM7dzvAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7jkfw0qeUlwrauhfy2pCGU","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/feed\/podcast","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"s1zw2BenU2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/the-epic-mess-of-the-metro-exodus-launch\">The Epic mess of the Metro Exodus launch<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/the-epic-mess-of-the-metro-exodus-launch\/embed#?secret=s1zw2BenU2\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;The Epic mess of the Metro Exodus launch&#8221; &#8212; The Social Element\" data-secret=\"s1zw2BenU2\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/*! 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