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11 Metro 2039 tells an original story set in post-apocalyptic Moscow in the year 2039. It was written by 4A Games in collaboration with Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author of the Metro novel trilogy, as a new narrative that is inspired by the world and spirit of the books but does not adapt them directly. The story centers on The Stranger, a recluse who is forced back into the Metro and into a confrontation with the Novoreich and its leader, Hunter.
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33 The Premise
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55 The central situation of Metro 2039 places The Stranger at the intersection of two choices that define its themes. He is a man who has removed himself from the world's conflicts, choosing silence and isolation over participation. The Metro he left behind has transformed in his absence: the Novoreich has risen, unified the stations under authoritarian rule, and silenced those who might resist. His forced return makes the question of whether silence is a tenable position into a personal and urgent one.
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77 The antagonist, Hunter, is a legendary figure from the series' lore who has become the Fuhrer of a fascist-styled regime. His turn from a renowned soldier into a tyrant who demands submission creates a conflict that is not simply about defeating a villain but about confronting what happens when those once admired become those who oppress.
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9+A gameplay trailer released in June 2026 sharpened this focus, foregrounding the human conflict against the Novoreich and its leader as the story's primary driver, ahead of the mutant dangers of the tunnels.
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911 Themes
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1113 4A Games identified three core themes at the game's reveal: the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, and the price of freedom. These are not incidental choices of subject matter but reflect the studio's own circumstances. 4A Games is a majority-Ukrainian studio that has developed Metro 2039 during and around the war in Ukraine, dealing directly with power outages, team dispersal, and the broader experience of living under threat.
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1315 The cost of silence addresses what is lost, and what grows, when people look away from injustice or choose not to act. The Novoreich could not have become what it is without the complicity or passivity of those living under it. The Stranger, as someone who chose to step away, embodies the tension between understandable self-preservation and the moral weight of inaction.
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1517 The horrors of tyranny are made concrete through the Novoreich itself: a regime that uses propaganda and fear to maintain control, that presents domination as order, and that has taken a once-fractured and pluralistic Metro and imposed a single, suffocating will upon it.
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1719 The price of freedom acknowledges that resistance is not without cost. The Stranger's journey is described as harrowing, and the developers have not framed the story as one in which heroism comes easily or cheaply. Freedom, the game suggests, requires sacrifice from those who pursue it.
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1921 Collaboration with Dmitry Glukhovsky
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2123 Dmitry Glukhovsky, whose Metro novels form the literary foundation of the series, co-wrote the story of Metro 2039 with 4A Games. The collaboration keeps the narrative within the same universe and respects its established tone and world-building, while the game's story is positioned as original rather than an adaptation of any specific novel. His involvement also connects the game's thematic ambitions to the humanist, politically aware writing that has characterized the source material.
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2325 Unconfirmed Story Elements
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2527 Many narrative details have not been revealed before launch. The specific circumstances that force The Stranger back into the Metro, the precise relationship between The Stranger and Hunter, the fate of other characters from the series, and the resolution of the story are all unconfirmed. This article will be updated as more information is released.