World premiere at new Xbox game showcase

The next game in 4A Games’ Metro series will officially be revealed on Thursday during an Xbox First Look showcase dedicated to the title. Metro 2039 will be the first new game in the post-apocalyptic first-person shooter series since 2019’s Metro Exodus, publisher Deep Silver announced Monday.

During a digital-only broadcast on Thursday, April 16, 4A and Deep Silver will offer a world-premiere look at Metro 2039. That showcase will be streamed at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. BST on Xbox’s YouTube channel.

Metro 2039 will be the fourth mainline game in the series, which is based on the novels by author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Previous games in the franchise include 2010’s Metro 2033, 2013’s Metro: Last Light, and Metro Exodus. Other releases include Metro Redux, a package that includes remastered versions of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, and Metro Awakening, the 2024 virtual reality spinoff for Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2, and SteamVR.

The Metro franchise is based on the stories and overall world of Glukhovsky’s novel series, which started with 2002’s Metro 2033. The games send players into the heart of a post-apocalyptic Moscow, in a world ravaged by global biological and nuclear warfare.

While Metro 2039 is not pitched as an Xbox exclusive, Microsoft says, “Xbox has always been a home for the franchise, and we’re honored to continue that relationship by bringing you a first look at this next exciting chapter.”

We had mostly positive things to say about the most recent game in the franchise, calling Metro Exodus a sequel that “flirts with optimism and hope.” From our review:

What is Metro Exodus setting out to achieve in the world that it has created? For 2033 and Last Light, it was arguably to show how humanity is doomed to the same path of self-destruction, even after the nuclear bombs have long fallen. Exodus is different, though. We still see the monstrosity of humanity, the horrors of brutal survival. But that isn’t the dominant worldview here. Metro Exodus injects the Russian post-apocalypse with hope.