Deep Silver has frozen several Steam keys for Metro Exodus after the publisher cried that its factory was robbed.
According to the report, the stolen Metro Exodus Steam keys were sold by an unauthorized reseller. The publisher, however, did not identify the reseller and whether or not legal actions will be pursued.
Deep Silver posted a statement on Steam Community explaining the Metro Exodus situation.
It said the “criminal nature” by which the keys were obtained prompted them to take swift action. All keys have been deactivated. That means that even if they key in the correct code to activate the game, the “executable file” is gone.
Meanwhile, the software itself will be expunged from the Steam library. Players could also be sanctioned for buying stolen goods. Deep Silver suggested that players who may have unwittingly purchased the stolen keys should demand a refund from the reseller.
For now, there are only two authorized resellers for Steam keys–Razer Store and Humblebundle.
The latest statement from Deep Silver earned some criticisms from the Steam community.
For instance, user V says that nobody believes the stolen key excuse because it’s virtually impossible to do that. The user said that the printing factory has stringent security checks when entering or exiting the production room. There are also cameras all around so thieves can easily be caught.
Stainless Rivet, meanwhile, remarked that instead of going after the thieves, Deep Silver is punishing the end consumers. He said the consumers are likely unaware that the keys were stolen.
Irrenhaus said the whole thing was shady on Deep Silver’s part. The user said that the publisher lied about the alleged theft because they provided the resellers with the Steam keys. But they transferred to Epic, they have a problem with the old keys because they need to match the demand. Unfortunately, you can’t use these keys when you download from the Epic Store.
Earlier, Deep Silver announced that the Metro Exodus will be pulled out of Steam. Instead, the game will only be released exclusively on the Epic Store. Their exclusive agreement with Epic Games would last for one year before they return to Steam.
The physical copies of the game already contain the Steam Key. However, these were stolen from the factory even before Deep Silver decided to move to the Epic Store.
The Metro Exodus will only return to the Steam on February 15, 2020.
