As the Metro games become 15 years old in 2025, 4A Games, the devs of the franchise, talk about how the war in Ukraine impacted the future of the title.
4A Talk About the Future of the Metro Games
It’s not out of the question to say that the Metro games are some of the best post-apocalyptic shooters out there. Based on the book series of the same name by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, the games are turning 15 years old this year. But considering the trilogy of Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light, and Metro: Exodus are created by the Ukrainian developer 4A Games, many fans wonder how the war will impact the development of any future titles from the franchise.
While development on the next Metro title is ongoing, the game will have a much darker theme, as a recent press release by 4A Games stated. The developer explained that following Russia’s invasion in 2022, the company has been struggling to work on its product. But these struggles have often also worked as inspiration for the devs.
Most of the 200 or so employees of 4A work and live in Kiev. The Ukrainian capital has often been under attack by Russian drones and missiles and was even under partial siege during the first stages of the war. “As art became life for many of our developers in Ukraine, we drew from that lived experience to create an even darker story, those themes already present in Metro becoming ever-more apparent and important,” the statement reads. “As conflict, the struggle for power, the horrors of tyranny, and the price of freedom have become part of our lives over the past 3+ years, we are still living and working during this wartime, and that inevitably shapes the games we make.”
Glukhovsky Is Also Working on the Next Game
4A also commented about the inspiration for the Metro Games himself, Glukhovsky. The dev mentioned that the author has always spoken out against the war in Ukraine from the start. 4A explained that this is a courageous decision for any Russian. Glukhovsky left Russia not long after the start of the war as he was persecuted by the Russian authorities for his criticisms of the war and the government. He was even sentenced to jail in absentia.
Despite that, he is now working closely with 4A games on the next iteration of the franchise. It’s currently unknown what that one will be, as Metro Exodus was technically the finale of the Metro Games. Perhaps Glukhovsky has decided to continue the story of Artyom in the wastelands of the postapocalyptic landscape. Alternatively, we might see some spin-off where we take control of another character that Artyom has met during his travels. Perhaps Miller, Anna, Ulman, or even the enigmatic Khan.
Whatever the future for the Metro Games may look like, it’s probably going to be a masterpiece, just like the already existing titles. And with Glukhovsky being part pf the production, we can be sure of 4A’s words when they said “Rest assured, you are in for quite the ride.”
Leave a Reply