4A Games has provided a studio update on its blog page along with releasing the Metro Exodus SDK to owners of the game. The studio emphasizes the challenges its staff is enduring as the war in Ukraine continues while trying to survive and work on the next game. It explains that while 4A Games has employees located around the world, the majority of the team is Ukranian and most of them are located in Kyiv. From losing family members, friends and colleagues, and homes, to joining forces to defend, the company has been greatly affected and is doing everything it can to support its staff.
“As a company, we’re doing everything we can. We provide financial and logistical assistance to the team scattered across Kyiv and beyond. We’re also proud to support and amplify the personal efforts of our staff who are volunteering, making donations, delivering medical supplies and food, and a lot more – most of all those who are fighting on the front lines.”
Current Projects
Teams continue to work on developing the next Metro Exodus game that was announced in 2020. Goals for the next game remain the same but current events have also led to the inspiration for how the studio plans to tell its story.
“The next Metro game is also changing for the better. And not simply because of the circumstances we find ourselves in. We’ve never hidden the fact that the Metro series has always carried a strong political and anti-war message. Yes, we’ve always wanted to entertain and immerse you in our post-apocalyptic world but there’s also been a bigger story to tell. And the war in Ukraine has made us re-think what kind of story the next Metro should be about. All the themes of Metro – conflict, power, politics, tyranny, repression – are now part of our daily life experiences. So, we’re embracing them and weaving them into the game with a renewed purpose.”
Metro Exodus SDK
The team finishes its update by announcing the release of the complete Metro Exodus SDK to owners of the game, regular or enhanced versions. The SDK can be downloaded from GOG, Steam, or Epic Games Store. They explain that fans have often requested mod tools for the game but it was always felt it would just be better to provide the SDK and now is the best time to do so. The only restriction for using it is that “you can’t use it for commercial purposes, share it behind a paywall, or sell anything you make with it.“
“We’ve heard your requests for things like mod support and, to be honest, we always wanted to do this, it’s just never been realistically possible until now. Over the years, we’ve seen so many Metro mods or themed levels created with other engines, but now we give you a chance to fulfill all your Metro wishes in the very engine where Metro was born.”
SDK features include Scene Editor, Model Editor/Viewer, Navigation and Particles modes, Terrain tool, and Weather/Camera Track/Visual Script Editors. Public documentation for using the tools has also been provided.
System Requirements
- OS: WINDOWS 10
- CPU: INTEL CORE I7-4770K OR EQUIVALENT
- MEMORY: 8 GB RAM
- GRAPHICS: GTX 1070 / RTX 2060 / AMD RX VEGA 56
- DIRECTX: VERSION 12
- STORAGE: 31 GB (IN ADDITION TO 70.1 GB FOR METRO EXODUS (77.95 GB WITH ALL DLCS) OR 79.6 GB FOR METRO EXODUS ENHANCED EDITION)
Discussion (5 replies)
Join Discussion →Mad respect for this team of devs.
Such weird timing with this. I just started another replay of Exodus last week on the 4930K rig so I could see how it could handle it with the 3090 Ti on the CRG9 since a number of newer games (CB 2077/Spider-Man Remastered/Witcher 3 Enhanced) have really been showing that CPU's age. Happy to say that the Exodus Enhanced version actually plays very well on the older rig. With RT ultra/extreme shading and DLSS Q, it's managed 45-55 in tough spots and ~85-100 in less demanding areas. My only complaint about this game is that HDR never seemed quite right with it and that's after testing it on 4 different HDR displays but I do consider that a nitpicking issue.
I feel so badly for these folks. I just don't know what else to say without going off into the deep end with things.
It's a nation under siege and the world is mostly just watching and taking quiet actions where they can. Really nobody wants Russia to pull China in as an ally on a military/economic war.
F*ck Putin man. Gawd d4mn. People just trying to live their lives, work hard and make video games or whatever, but some @ssholes always have to f*ck sh1t up for everyone else.
This studio has always put its heart and soul into these games as well. I got into them when the 2nd originally came out and it was when I was gaming in 3D and had an SLI setup. They were one of the few back then that supported both, and the game was just incredible to play that way. It was also one of the last to support a dedicated PhysX card and that was when I was first able to play something in 4K w/ my 4930K, 2x 970s, and GTX 780. Even then that rig could do 40-50 in 4K w/ AA x 2 and slightly better in 1440p 3D.
The "redux" versions took out a lot of that support, as was normal for that time period, and made some other improvements, but I was always mixed on the character model changes. I still use the Last Light Redux benchmark tool for testing raster performance with my cards, set it to AA x 4, and watch them fall to their knees (the 4090 finally broke the 60-100 FPS barrier at 4K)