After a seven-year absence, the Metro 2039 announcement is 4A Games’ return with what it calls the darkest entry in the already dark series, shaped by the challenges faced by the developers during the war. Dmitry Glukhovsky, co-writer and creator, stated on X (formerly Twitter) on April 14, “This Metro game will be darker than anything you’ve seen before”. The fourth instalment in the post-apocalyptic first-person shooter franchise is scheduled for release this winter on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, though a specific date has not been announced.
While 4A Games was quick with previous Metro sequels, Metro 2033 in 2010, Metro: Last Light in 2013, and Metro Exodus in 2019, this is their longest gap between releases. The Russia-Ukraine war significantly slowed down Metro 2039’s development, according to the team, but the Kyiv-based studio powered through nonetheless. After a full-scale invasion, they moved their operations centre to Malta, but the core team stayed in Ukraine. The team worked through drone strikes, despite infrastructural discrepancies.
These traumatic changes are why this fourth instalment is the heaviest for the team; their impact shapes the tone of Metro 2039, they said. “Art has become life for many of our developers in Ukraine, and we drew from this experience to create an even darker story,” the studio stated. Themes such as the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, and the price of freedom are woven throughout the game.
Metro 2039 Future Release Revisits the Series’ Roots With a Darker Narrative Focus
Metro 2039 is set six years after the original game, bringing players back to the underground tunnels of post-apocalyptic Moscow. While Metro Exodus expanded the setting, this instalment returns to the series’ roots. Players assume the role of The Stranger, a recluse haunted by violent nightmares who must revisit a place he vowed never to return. The Stranger is the first fully voiced protagonist in the series.
The world the Stranger returns to has changed significantly, as the Metro’s factions have merged into a single authoritarian regime, the Novoreich, led by a self-declared Fuhrer. Propaganda dominates daily life, and fear enforces compliance. Survival requires difficult decisions, so expect to hoard a lot of bullets and selectively pick your targets.
