The last time we saw a mainline title entry into the Metro franchise was in 2019 with Metro Exodus, unless you count Metro Awakening from November 2024, however that title was VR only. After what has felt like ages a new title has entered the franchise: Metro 2039.
4A Games describes Metro 2039 as a journey “to the dark heart of the Moscow Metro where the last survivors of the nuclear apocalypse cling to existence in the tunnels and subways of the ruined city, hope is lost… the future looks bleak… if there is one.”
You can view the first look at Metro 2039 in partnership with Xbox with the below video:
A New Mysterious Protagonist
After what felt like a pretty solid way for Artyom’s story to end, 4A is shifting gears and introducing a new protagonist into the fray known as “The Stranger”. For the first time in a mainline Metro game, the main protagonist will have a voice, allowing you to get a new feeling whenever you step into the shoes of this character and potentially invest yourself into the characters backstory in new ways.
The Stranger is described by 4A as “a man plagued by his violent waking nightmares, you, the player, now get more insight into his inner thoughts and turmoil as you navigate the harrowing journey ahead – opening up a new avenue of storytelling for the series and allowing you to feel the weight of the world bearing down on the Stranger’s shoulders.”
Return to the Dark
Exodus took us across the Russian wilderness aboard the Aurora while Metro 2039 seems to cling further into the games original roots. The journey heads back into the dark heart of Moscow’s subway system, with 4A leading into “the intensity of darkness, intimacy of closed, claustrophobic spaces, details and frozen stories throughout the world, knowing that every step, every decision has a cost.”
It will be very interesting to see how 4A lives up to the bar they’ve set for themselves of this being the “darkest story they have ever told”.
New Factions & Real-World Influences on Storytelling
A new threat has emerged in Metro 2039: The Novoreich. This faction is described as aiming to “swallow the metro as we know it under one leader – the Fuhrer Hunter,” though the developers tease that this faction has made a fatal mistake in crossing paths with our main protagonist, The Stranger.
Beyond new factions, the development of Metro 2039 has been shaped heavily by the “harsh reality” of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. This environment led 4A Games to collaborate closely with the series creator Dmitry Glukhovsky, the Russian-Israeli author currently in exile for his criticism of the war, to craft a narrative rooted in shared values of freedom and truth.
So… When Does it Release?
Metro 2039 luckily isn’t one of the projects we have announced and them a decade later don’t get to play yet, as with this announcement it was revealed that the game will be hitting stores Winter 2026, assuming there’s no delays of course! It will be available to purchase and play on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Steam, and the Epic Games Store, with us potentially getting more looks into the game as time ticks closer to the Winter.
Will you be diving into Metro 2039 this winter or are there other games that have caught your eye recently? If you’re looking for some new freebies to pick up and play, consider checking out this weeks Epic Games Freebies for the week of April 16th!
