Metro author Dmitry Glukhovsky says the next game in the series 'will be darker than anything you've seen before'

XYesterday was a big day for me, because yesterday saw the first official confirmation of Metro 2039 as the next game in 4A's outstanding post-apocalyptic train-riding series. It wasn't actually a reveal—that won't happen until Thursday, April 16—but it was a title and a commitment, and by god I'll take it.

Now I have burning questions. Will 2039 bring back Artyom and the boys for another round of adventures, or will we wish them well and go back underground for a new gang of unfortunates? If the latter, does that mean the bad ending of Metro Exodus is canon? No spoilers, but it's pretty bad—and given what 4A did to kick off Metro: Last Light, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility.

And if Artyom does come back, will he somehow return to the tunnels that provided the horrifically distinctive backdrop for the first two games in the series, or will he find new kinds of awfulness awaiting in the fresh air and sunshine of Exodus?

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Writing on X, Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky answered precisely none of those questions. He did, however, promise the best worst time yet, saying Metro 2039 will be seriously dark.

I think it's important to take note of his specific wording here: Not that 2039 will be darker than Exodus, or darker than the full Metro series, or darker than any other post-apoc videogame you've ever played, but "darker than anything you've seen before." I've been on the internet a long time, and I've seen some dark shit, I will tell you what, and if Glukhovsky is telling me that Metro 2039 is going to be even darker than that, all I can say is, man I hope not. I've had enough.

It's possible he could be speaking literally about the sub-optimal lighting situation in the ruins of the Moscow Metro, but I suspect not. Besides, that's why we have gamma sliders, right?

Glukhovsky also took a moment to drop the hammer on someone who poked what looks to be good-natured fun at Glukhovsky's ongoing involvement with the Metro series:

There is a distinction: While Metro 2033, the first game in the series, is based on Glukhovsky's novel of the same name, the sequel diverged from his work, so instead of Metro 2034, we got Last Light. But unlike The Witcher creator Andrzej Sapkowski, who famously licensed the property to CD Projekt and then washed his hands of the whole thing, Glukhovsky has remained involved in the game series, and holds writing credits on both Last Light and the VR-exclusive Metro Awakening.

Metro 2039 will be formally unveiled at 10 am PT/1 pm ET/6 pm UK on April 16, on YouTube. Here's some trademark Metro darkness to tide you over in the meantime.