Metro devs on sequel: Living in Ukraine during Russian invasion made our story 'even darker'

The sequel to 2019's Metro Exodus was briefly revealed to be in existence in 2023, but since then, not much has been shown about the highly anticipated title. However, we have now learned the game will be much darker than its predecessors.

Accoding to a new blog post that pays tribute to 16 years of Metro, the developers at 4A Games have teased the contents of the upcoming game by saying where they have drawn inspiration from. The blog post states the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has influenced the development of the title, even going as far as to changing how the team "wanted to tell the story of the next Metro game."

4A Games explains, "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 developers continued to explain that as the conflict in Ukraine continues, the struggle for power being more than apparent, and now becoming part of their lives over the course of the last 3+ years, "we are still living and working during this wartime, and that inevitably shapes the games we make."

"As we said in our last studio update, in 2022 a full-scale russian invasion changed how we wanted to tell the story of the next Metro game. 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."

"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," wrote the developers

A release window for the next Metro game hasn't been set, with there being no details released on the title at all. For those who don't know, the Metro games are based on the book series of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky, a Russian author who has been outspoken against the invasion of Ukraine and is currently working with 4A Games on the development of the new title. Moreover, Dmitry Glukhovsky has been sentenced to jail for his opposition against the war in Ukraine.

"Dmitry has always spoken out against the war in Ukraine from the start - a courageous decision for any Russian, that has seen him sentenced to jail (in absentia) - and we are proud to have him as a friend and co-creator as we tell this next, and never more relevant chapter of Metro together," wrote the team