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Metro 2039 represents the longest development cycle in the Metro series, spanning roughly seven years since Metro Exodus was released in 2019. During those years, 4A Games navigated the consequences of the war in Ukraine, which fundamentally affected both how the game was made and what it chose to be about.
4A Games: The Studio
4A Games was founded in Ukraine and remains a majority-Ukrainian studio. Its teams are based in Kyiv and Malta, with staff drawn from many countries. The studio developed the Metro series from its origins, building and refining the proprietary 4A Engine that powers each installment. Deep Silver has served as the publisher for the studio's Metro releases.
Key creative figures attached to Metro 2039 include Jon Bloch as Executive Producer, Andriy Shevchenko as Creative Director, and Pavel Ulmer as Co-Creative Director and Lead Audio Designer. These are the staff members the studio chose to represent the game at its public reveal.
The Impact of War on Development
The war in Ukraine had a direct and serious impact on the development of Metro 2039. The studio's Kyiv team experienced power outages, disruptions to daily life, and the dispersal of staff members who had to relocate or respond to the conflict. These conditions made development harder and slower than it might otherwise have been, and they contributed to the unusually long gap between Metro Exodus and Metro 2039.
More significantly, the experience of the war reshaped what the game wanted to say. 4A Games has spoken openly about how living through a conflict driven by propaganda, authoritarian aggression, and the silencing of dissent gave the team a direct personal connection to the themes they chose to explore in Metro 2039. The Novoreich, the game's fascist-styled antagonist regime, and the themes of the cost of silence and the horrors of tyranny are not abstract choices but ideas the developers have lived with.
Development Timeline
Date | Event |
|---|---|
February 2019 | Metro Exodus released; the previous Metro entry by 4A Games |
April 16, 2026 | Metro 2039 revealed via a dedicated First Look stream; approximately 15 minutes including a roughly six-minute trailer |
Early May 2026 | Game surpassed one million wishlists |
Winter 2026 | Planned release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC |
The Reveal
Metro 2039 was publicly unveiled on April 16, 2026, through a dedicated First Look stream that ran approximately 15 minutes. The stream included a roughly six-minute reveal trailer combining cinematic sequences with an early gameplay tease, and was accompanied by a set of screenshots. Jon Bloch, Andriy Shevchenko, and Pavel Ulmer spoke during the stream about the game's direction and the themes that shaped it.
Audience interest was strong from the moment of the reveal. The game crossed one million wishlists by early May 2026, a milestone that reflects both the established audience of the Metro series and the anticipation built by the reveal presentation.
Technology
Metro 2039 runs on the proprietary 4A Engine, the same engine family that has powered the Metro series throughout its history. 4A Games described the ray-tracing implementation in Metro 2039 as advancing beyond what was achieved in Metro Exodus, targeting the capabilities of current-generation consoles, specifically the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. PC players will also benefit from the engine's technical capabilities via the Steam and Epic Games Store releases.