Exactly.  If this had been announced months ago, a year would be preferable, then the outrage wouldn't be so heated.  But, we are less than a month from release and they drop this bomb on people.  Really, they should have let this release as is, but have a slight discount ($5-$10) on Epic Store to appeal to people.  If they release another game, then they can announce this along with the game, or shortly after.

This may be morally consistent and the right thing to do from your point of view but the finance department will look at it differently, They don't care about how entitled the PC community is or how the devs feel, all they care about is cash and pulling the game entirely from PC won't make them more money.

Did you read the first part of the sentence? If it sells poorly on PC, the cost of removing it would be very miniscule, causing no harm, probably. Since the amount of sales removed was very little.

It's only a "massive decline" if they decide to pull it when it sells well, which they're not gonna.

It's up to the fans to keep the series on PC.

Yeah, unfortunately (or fortunately) the apology will come very soon.  

I think these exclusivity deals cause some harm in the short term, but ultimately the goal is to bring the developer cut on PC down to 12% as a standard. Once Steam gives in, it will be a major victory of PC developers.

Announcing this just three weeks prior to release, I admit, is worth the backlash. They should've done it months ahead, like Division 2.

Oh don't worry, it definitely isn't morally consistent with what Flashfire believes: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8963701

Of course, the fact that it's easier to transition from one digital platform to another than it is from one console to another - while true - doesn't change the fact that it's locking the game from a platform. 

No stores can have different prices and deals to compete with each other.

If people would actually do that, then moving games from one store to another store with lacking features, anti consumer practices, questionable security policies would be without consequences for publishers. And all of this very close to release. People who were promised to get a Steam key by pre-ordering the physical version will now get an EGS key without them being asked. You think that is ok? 

If they would do that from the start, then the complaints wouldn't be as strong as they are now. But this is certainly not in favor of the consumers, and also not the vendors, since they have to deal with the canceled pre-orders. 

Not to mention that many PC gamers have game collections that totally eclipse many console gamers collections even on this forum.
It's anecdotal, but thought I would just make that point.

IF gamers boycott the game because it isn't on Steam... Then the company isn't listening to consumers and it is their own fault.

It's the principle of the matter. - Not everyone wants a dozen programs to manage their game libraries... One of the big advantages of Steam was how it consolidated your entire game library in one, easy and convenient place.

Plus the Epic store app is missing some vital basic functionality... And in general is slow and clunky, if you are going to compete against the industry standard, you do need to actually be better than them before you force your draconian ways upon the populace.

It is more like...

-Dev makes a new game.
-Dev puts the game up for Pre-Order on Steam.
-Dev pulls the game from Steam and starts selling it on another store just weeks before launch.
-PC Gamers who don't like the Epic store, closes wallets with a boycott. (As they are fully entitled to do.)
-Dev blackmails PC gamers.
-Shit probably hits the fan.

It's not like that at all.
Keep in mind that Metro is primarily a PC franchise, it tends to sell and look best on PC and has a pretty dedicated fanbase... It simply doesn't make business sense to crap on that fanbase.

Vast majority of games I won't buy if they aren't on Steam (Exceptions if they are on GOG/Blizzard app), it's as simple as that, that is my consumer decision and I have and will vote with my wallet... More often than not if the game captures my attention, I will buy a second copy on console.

Yeah. They just weren't tactful in their approach... So I think an apology is going to be their next move. - But even then, I think the damage is likely done.

Which is sad... Because they make some amazing games that push PC technology.

As I highlighted earlier:

This is the actual context of using a different store you can't even play any game on ES offline for a start.

False equivilency here. People had to buy $300 consoles to access those games, while this situation is just a matter of switching to a different storefront on PC (which is totally free, by the way).