Ukrainian studio 4A Games has officially revealed the first details of the fourth installment in the cult franchise of post-apocalyptic shooters — Metro 2039. The full release of the project is scheduled for February 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms. The studio confirmed that development is underway simultaneously at 4A Games' offices in Kyiv and Malta, and Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author of the original novels on which the series was based, has once again been brought on board to work on the script.

New Protagonist: The Stranger

The series' biggest news is the change of its central character. The constant hero of the previous games, Artyom, gives way to The Stranger — a hermit who swore never to return to the metro, but is forced to do so because of the "bloody horrors of his past." According to the developers, he will become the first fully voiced protagonist in the entire franchise, which radically changes the approach to storytelling and the player's emotional immersion.

The World of the New Reich and Its Führer

The situation in the underground has changed radically: the previously fragmented stations have united under the flag of the authoritarian New Reich regime. It is led by Hunter — a former officer of the Order of Sparta who now rules as a führer, relying on propaganda, disinformation, and brute force. Players will have to face both the regime's soldiers and mutated creatures, combining stealth mechanics, makeshift weapons, and a constant search for limited resources.

The War's Influence on the Narrative Tone

Creative Director Andriy Shevchenko openly stated that the unprovoked full-scale war in Ukraine directly influenced the dark tone of the narrative, shifting the focus to themes of tyranny, resistance, and the price of conflict for ordinary people. This confirms the series' course toward an even darker, "no bright post-apocalypse" scenario than in the previous installments.

Technical Foundation: a New Build of 4A Engine

On the technical side, Metro 2039 is built on a new build of the in-house 4A Engine. Level design returns to the classic narrow tunnels combined with open station hubs. The updated engine supports global illumination with real-time ray tracing, improved reflections, and dynamic weather changes when going to the surface, which should enhance the contrast between the underground and the surface world.

Contradictory Data

Media publications contain a minor inconsistency in how the release timing is presented: some outlets (for example, overclockers.ru) describe the game's release as "this winter," which, given the current date of 2026, could be mistakenly read as the winter of 2026/2027, whereas the studio's official position pins down a specific month — February 2027. In addition, early reports of "first details" have been supplemented by a subsequent gameplay trailer featuring a destroyed Moscow, so the chronology of the announcement (details → trailer with date) is presented differently across various materials. The actual release date figures, however, do not conflict.