The ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has significantly impacted the development of 4A Games' upcoming first-person shooter, Metro 2039, altering both its narrative direction and the team's overall perspective, according to developers.
Creative director Andriy Shevchenko explained that the war has fundamentally changed the team, influencing their outlook and, consequently, their vision for the game. "The world changes the team completely, their way of being, their way of thinking, and their way of understanding what's going on in general," Shevchenko stated. "So automatically it brings new visions and new philosophy into the game through the team."
Executive producer Jon Bloch elaborated on the narrative shift, noting that previous Metro games focused on the prevention of war. However, with the conflict now directly affecting the developers, the focus has moved to its consequences. "We had to change our approach about what kind of story we wanted to tell. We wanted to tell now the consequences of war, what happens when war comes to you," Bloch said. This pivot necessitated significant production adjustments, with many plans changing rapidly.
Co-creative director and audio lead Pavel Ulmer added that the series' inherent themes have become uncomfortably close to reality, dramatically shifting the perception of the franchise. "Basically, it's all divided from before and after."
In terms of gameplay and design, the developers have focused on increasing the density of the game world. Shevchenko noted a goal to "avoid empty spaces" and enhance the density of "everything" – objects, sound, animation, characters, and detail. To support this, 4A Games rebuilt its render engine from the ground up for full ray tracing, aiming to push realistic visuals and asset density while maintaining performance across all platforms. "The engine from day one has always been multi-platform. So performance is a huge, huge factor for us," Bloch emphasized.
The team aims to make the entire game world feel cohesive and believable, rather than concentrating visual fidelity only in cutscene areas. "Our goal is not to make the area cool only where the cut scene is supposed to be, you know, but to make all the areas look cool and nice and natural, believable," Ulmer explained.
For new players, the developers recommend taking their time with Metro 2039. Shevchenko advised players "not to be afraid to explore" to discover interesting elements. Ulmer suggested avoiding excessive sprinting, reserving it for moments of immediate threat, to allow ample opportunity to absorb the game's atmosphere, story, and details. "It's like a good movie. Playing this story just in order to finish, it's a bad idea. Enjoy it. Take your time," Ulmer concluded.