The next entry in 4A Games' Metro franchise, Metro 2039, was fully unveiled today by the development team during a dedicated streaming event. It will be released this Winter on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox app).
First and foremost, it won't be an open world game, unlike Metro Exodus, which featured semi-open world environments. 4A Games is returning to a handcrafted experience that focuses mainly on Moscow's tunnels. Another significant change is that Artyom, the protagonist of the first three games, has been replaced by the so-called Stranger. This is perhaps not so surprising to those who have completed Metro Exodus; Artyom has definitely earned some respite.
According to the developers, the Stranger is a recluse haunted by violent waking nightmares, living in exile in the wilderness beyond Moscow. When the ghosts of his past force him out of hiding, he must undertake a harrowing journey back into the Metro, the one place he swore he would never return to. The Stranger is also described as
As suggested by the title, the game takes place in 2039, twenty-five years after a nuclear war that devastated the Russian capital and most of the world. The underground factions and station communities that once fought each other have now been forcibly unified under a single authoritarian banner: the Novoreich, led by a self-proclaimed Führer known as Hunter, a legendary Spartan soldier. Hunter promises salvation and life on the surface, but in reality the population remains trapped in the Metro tunnels, subjugated by propaganda, misinformation, and fear.
Throughout the presentation, 4A Games made no secret of the story's highly political tone, driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The studio was founded in Ukraine, and most of its developers are Ukrainian, even though its headquarters have been moved to Malta since 2014. Development of Metro 2039 in the Ukrainian office continues through power outages, rocket attacks, and drone strikes, with team members sheltering while continuing work. Like the previous installments, the game was also crafted in collaboration with Dmitry Glukhovsky, author of the Metro book trilogy and an outspoken critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, who now lives in exile (he's on Russia's wanted list for his anti-war stance).
The original narrative plans thus changed significantly in 2020 (because of COVID), and even more dramatically in 2022 (because of the war); the story was reshaped to focus on choices, actions, consequences, and the cost of securing a future.
The main pillars of Metro 2039 are:
- Psychological tension and a claustrophobic atmosphere
- The cost of silence and the consequences of inaction
- The horrors of tyranny and authoritarian control
- The price of freedom: moral weight on every decision
From a gameplay standpoint, players can look forward to exploring the ruined Moscow Metro and its surrounding environments. The game features survival mechanics in line with the series' resource-scarce tradition, plenty of combat (including mutant encounters), and stealth, confirmed as a core pillar.
4A Games has long been known for its technical prowess. Metro Exodus was the first game to extensively integrate ray tracing with the Enhanced Edition released in 2021. The new game still runs on the proprietary 4A Engine, although the team boasted that the new version is "more tuned and performant" while still delivering stunning visuals. The engine's tools allow for environments where every space has a physically plausible reason to exist, improving the immersion factor.
We'll no doubt learn more about Metro 2039 as the release window draws nearer. Until then, stay tuned on Wccftech.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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