"You've given us 15 years of support, 15 years of passion, and 15 years of love. Thank you."
4A Games creative director Yevhen "Lin" Fedorets shared that heartfelt message alongside more words of gratitude from the Metro 2033 team in a video celebrating the game's 15th anniversary this week.
Andriy "Prof" Prokhorov, 4A Games co-founder and creative director, gave a toast to the fans as well, saying "I want to raise this glass to our fans, to our community. Without you guys, without your support, Metro would not have become what it has become. Thank you, Spartans."
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The celebratory words of appreciation from the 4A Games team were accompanied by a look back at some of the highlights of the Metro series over the years, along with a hint at what comes next.
Originally released on March 16, 2010, Metro 2033 was the start of a hit series of thrilling post-apocalyptic FPS adventures following the survivors of a nuclear war as they fight for their lives in the metro tunnels beneath Moscow. The series was originally adapted from the book Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky, who is involved in the development of the games, as well.
In the decade and a half since its release, Metro 2033's intense, emotional story has become all the more relevant for its Ukraine-based dev team. As 4A Games shared in a blog post celebrating the games's anniversary, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is shaping the future of the franchise:
"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."
4A Games added, "Metro has always had a hard-hitting, political, anti-war and often emotional story—and you can be sure these themes will continue thanks to our ongoing collaboration with franchise creator, author, and activist Dmitry Glukhovsky."
The 4A Games situation in Ukraine is a little confusing. In February, 4A Ukraine, which we learned at the time had been an entirely separate company from 4A Malta since that studio's founding in 2014, changed its name to Reburn and announced its next game, La Quimera. But 4A said in a studio update posted in February that, following the release of Metro Exodus and its DLC, it launched another studio based in Kyiv as 4A Games Limited, which took in roughly 50 employees, while 4A Ukraine moved ahead with La Quimera and eventually changed its name—so 4A Games still has a presence in Ukraine.
By the sound of it, 4A Games is still hard at work on the next Metro game. While the 15th anniversary video and blog post don't give much away (least of all a release date), 4A Games clearly has something in the works, and the studio closed out its anniversary blog post by building a little excitement for what's coming up:
"Rest assured, you are in for quite the ride. To our community, thank you for your words of support, your patience and your excitement over what is to come. We are grateful to have you, and rest assured, despite the challenges we face, we will overcome them as we have all others before."
If you haven't experienced the Metro series yet, now is the perfect time to give it a try. The first game is 85% off on Steam right now for the Steam Spring Sale, bringing it down to a measly $3. You can also snag the Metro Saga bundle for just under $12, which is a steal for three complete games plus the Metro: Exodus expansion pass.
