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The Xbox First Look: Metro 2039 broadcast just ended, giving the first glimpse at 4A Games' next major project. The studio brought both a cinematic trailer and a tiny snippet of gameplay for the broadcast, while also delivering a strong message from the Ukrainian development team about the theme of the game.
Landing as the fourth entry to the Metro series of games after Exodus, Metro 2039 will bring in a brand-new protagonist, leaving behind Artyom. The new chapter will let players take control of The Stranger, a fully voiced protagonist that will explore the "darkest chapter in the Metro saga yet" according to the developer.
Taking place in and around the Moscow Metro again, The Stranger will be going up against a fascist dictatorship and its new Fuhrer, Hunter. Check out the new cinematic trailer and gameplay snippet below:
4A Games is using its own custom game engine to power Metro 2039. It said that this has enabled the team to make a "tuned and performant experience" without losing out on visuals.
The Ukrainian studio also shared how the Russian invasion of its country affected the development of Metro 2039. The story has been reworked to reflect the effects of the war being experienced by the development team. The original author of the book series, Dmitry Glukhovsky, is also lending a hand with the plot while being exiled from Russia for criticizing the government.
"The meaning [of our games] has always been about preventing war. But now, war is our reality, and our message has shifted to be about the consequences, the cost of silence, the horrors of tyranny, and the price of freedom," Co-Creative Director and Lead Audio Designer Pawel Ulmer said. "When Russia’s full-scale invasion began, it changed the lives of everyone in the studio – but more so of our team and families in Ukraine. Even today, the majority of our team works from various locations around Ukraine."
Metro 2039 is releasing in the winter of 2026 across PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.