After years of leaks, a canceled 2022 build, and more than one round of “is it still happening?” community anxiety, Metro 2039 is real and we are days away from seeing it properly. Xbox Wire confirmed the game this morning, with 4A Games and Deep Silver set to host a dedicated world premiere reveal on Thursday, April 16, at 10AM PT via the official Xbox YouTube channel.
This will be the fourth mainline entry in the Metro series, following Metro 2033 (2010), Metro: Last Light (2013), and Metro Exodus (2019). The official description states it is set four years after the events of Metro Exodus, placing the story timeline somewhere around 2039 — fitting the title. Beyond that, Ubisoft has said nothing about the plot, characters, or setting in official communications, though the leak history around this project is extensive. A 22-minute gameplay video from the game’s scrapped 2022 version surfaced online just days ago, and earlier this month footage from what appears to be a current pre-alpha build also leaked. Those are two distinct builds, suggesting the project went through significant creative overhaul before arriving at whatever 4A Games is ready to show Thursday.
The Embracer Group CEO referenced a “long-awaited, major, in-house developed and in-house published title” in a February earnings call targeting Embracer’s FY27 window, which runs from March 2026 through April 2027. Metro 2039 fitting that description is the most straightforward reading. Saber Interactive, another Embracer studio, was reportedly co-developing the project with 4A Games as of 2020, which has fueled speculation about possible multiplayer features — a series first. 4A Games is a Ukrainian studio, and the team has previously stated that its experiences during the ongoing conflict would inform parts of the game’s narrative and tone.
For PC hardware enthusiasts, Metro has always been a meaningful series from a technical standpoint. Metro Exodus was one of the first games to demonstrate real-time ray tracing in a meaningful way at launch, and each Metro title has historically served as a demanding GPU showcase. If 4A Games is targeting current-generation hardware and has had several years of development on modern GPUs, expectations for the visual bar should be high. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition remains one of the better-looking path-traced games available, and whatever comes next has that as a baseline to clear.
Thursday’s showcase will stream live on YouTube and Xbox has confirmed co-streaming will be enabled for content creators. A full recap will be available immediately after the broadcast for anyone who misses the live event. Whatever 4A Games shows, it will be the most significant Metro news since Exodus launched seven years ago.