The Creators of Metro 2039 Explain Why They Reworked the Game After Russia’s Invasion

Metro 2039 will be significantly darker than the previous entries in the series, and it is not just about returning to the claustrophobic tunnels of Moscow. The developers at 4A Games have now provided more detail on why they discarded the project’s original version during development and fundamentally reworked the story. The main reason was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the experiences of the studio’s own members.

The Original Game Was About Trying to Prevent War

Executive Producer Jon Bloch explains that the previous Metro games incorporated a message about preventing war and how people can stop the endlessly repeating cycle of conflicts. After Russia’s invasion began, however, this was no longer a hypothetical topic for the team. War became their everyday reality, so the developers felt they also had to change what they wanted to say with the new game.

The New Game Will Be About the Consequences of War

Instead of asking how to prevent war, Metro 2039 will focus on its consequences. This change called for a more personal and considerably darker story. That is also why the protagonist, Stranger, will be the first main character in the series to have a full voice. The developers also changed some locations and the game’s overall emotional tone to fit the new story. However, they say the war did not fundamentally affect the gameplay mechanics, which evolved naturally over the course of the lengthy development process.

Another important change is the way the game will approach moral themes. The previous entries left many events in a gray area, leaving players to form their own opinions. Metro 2039 is intended to be much more direct in this regard. The developers want to show what war and tyranny cause, without trying to romanticize or relativize them. According to Bloch, there is nothing good about them, and this time that should be clear to the player.

Fascism Rules Moscow

The new situation in Moscow reflects this as well. The factions that fought one another in the previous games have been united under the fanatical Spartan Hunter. His Novoreich regime rules through propaganda and fear and is preparing the population for a new war over the surface. The game’s official description calls it a fascist dictatorship, with Hunter acting as the regime’s Führer.

Tyranny, freedom and the consequences of silence are among the main themes that 4A Games wants to address in the new story. The author of the original books, Dmitry Glukhovsky, is still working with the team on the story. He has long criticized the Russian regime and the invasion of Ukraine. In an interview, Game Director Andriy Shevchenko recalled that Glukhovsky had warned about Russia’s direction as many as 10 to 15 years ago and, in his view, turned out to be right. 4A Games itself also says that they created the new story together on the basis of shared values of freedom and truth, shaped by the reality of the world around them.

Development During the War

For the developers themselves, this is not a distant source of inspiration. Part of the team is still working in Ukraine, where they have to cope with missile and drone attacks, air-raid alerts, power outages and moves to shelters. During the interview, Shevchenko mentioned that the latest bombardment of Kyiv had ended only approximately ten hours before the interview. The studio building has already been damaged in attacks, although its structure has not yet suffered any more serious damage.

Shevchenko also described the situation from a more personal perspective. While developers once looked for references from distant countries when creating destroyed cities, today, he says, people in the Kyiv office only need to look out the window. This experience has strongly shaped the atmosphere and philosophy of Metro 2039.

The game is also returning to the series’ roots. The developers compare it to an inverted Metro Exodus. While Exodus gradually led players out of the dark tunnels into a larger and brighter world, Metro 2039 will move in the opposite direction. Stranger will approach Moscow and gradually descend into an increasingly enclosed, darker and more repressive environment. 4A Games also wants to combine the claustrophobic story sections of Metro 2033 and Last Light with the more open exploration options from Exodus.

Metro 2039 will be released in February 2027 on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.