4A Games is celebrating 15 years of Metro with events planned throughout the year and a new video detailing the franchise’s history. The developers first began their venture into Dmitry Glukhovsky’s post-apocalyptic world infested by monsters, and mutants, where humanity struggles to survive, roughly twenty years ago. Since then millions around the world have played their games which continue to push PCs to their limits.
Per 15th anniversary Announcement:
“Throughout this year, there will be events, deals and celebratory content on the Metro social media channels, to thank you, our players for coming on the journey so far with us. We encourage you to share your favourite Metro memories with #Metro15 – we can’t wait to see what your favourite moments over the years have been, it’s inspiring and an honour to know that you are celebrating with us.”
Metro 2010-Present
The first game, Metro 2033, debuted on March 16, 2010, a time when PC enthusiasts could still utilize multiple GPU support, aka SLI (NVIDIA) or Crossfire (AMD), 3D gaming, DirectX 10, and dedicated GPU PhysX support. The game’s visuals utilized all of the aforementioned technology to produce stunning images for the first-person shooter genre. Three years later, the first sequel Metro Last Light, arrived on May 14, 2013, continuing the story as survivors encountered new and old threats while trying to escape their underground purgatory. Both games would be re-released as “Redux” versions featuring DLC, and various QoL updates. There were some changes also made that could be interpreted as better or worse depending on the player’s opinion.
Next up came Metro Exodus in 2019 where PC hardware options had changed considerably. Gone was support for mGPU setups, as well as 3D and NVIDIA had bought PhysX from its developers removing much of its dedicated GPU benefits. However this 3rd entry helped usher in NVIDIA’s latest technology, Ray Tracing and DLSS as well as spatial audio and HDR. To date, this title can still push some setups to their limits when played at 4K with maximum settings. It too would get an “Enhanced” release, this time primarily focusing on DLSS 2.0 updates. The latest franchise addition Metro Awakening launched this year. It featured not only a new protagonist but also harkened back to its 3D beginnings by being a VR-only release, although 4A Games did outsource its development to Vertigo Games.
4A Games past, present, and future
4A Games announced that it started with around sixty employees but has now expanded to over two hundred with locations in Kyiv and Sliema, Malta. Fans of the Metro franchise can expect to hear more about the sequel to Metro Exodus but 4A Games has also shared that it is working on a brand new IP as well. News about the next game first broke five years ago when 4A Game celebrated its 10th anniversary of the Mettro franchise and in 2023 it was reported the game’s development had made significant progress. Much like fellow Ukrainian developer GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R), 4A Games and its teams have had to endure the challenges and tragedies of the ongoing war. They’ve previously said this affected the next game’s development in multiple ways including a perspective for its storytelling.
“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.”