Seven years after Metro Exodus, the tunnels are calling again. Microsoft has officially confirmed that Metro 2039, the next mainline entry in 4A Games' post-apocalyptic franchise, will get its full debut at an Xbox First Look showcase this Thursday, April 16, at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK.
From weekend leak to official confirmation
The news didn't exactly arrive quietly. Significant gameplay footage from what appeared to be an earlier build of Metro 2039 leaked over the weekend, giving fans their first unplanned look at the game before any official word. Leaker NateTheHate (who has a solid track record, including correctly calling Nintendo Direct dates) had already named the game and pointed to April 16 as the reveal date before Microsoft said a word.
Xbox moved quickly to get ahead of it. Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor, confirmed the showcase in a post on Xbox Wire, writing: "Xbox has always been a home for the franchise, and we're honored to continue that relationship by bringing you a first look at this next exciting chapter."
Here's the thing: that confirmation also tells us something meaningful about the game's platform situation. Xbox positioning this as a partnership with Deep Silver (publisher) and 4A Games (developer) suggests the series' historical Xbox alignment is continuing, though no platform exclusivity details have been announced yet.
What the Metro series looks like heading into 2039
For anyone who needs the timeline: the Metro franchise is built on Dmitry Glukhovsky's post-apocalyptic Russian novel series. The games started with Metro 2033 back in 2010, continued with Metro: Last Light, and reached their most ambitious point yet with Metro Exodus in 2019. A VR spinoff, Metro Awakening, arrived in 2024, but 4A Games had previously made clear that wasn't the mainline sequel fans were waiting for.
That means Metro 2039 is the first true mainline Metro game in seven years. For a franchise that built its reputation on suffocating tunnel survival and some of the most atmospheric first-person storytelling in the genre, that's a long gap.
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The Xbox First Look: Metro 2039 showcase is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK.
What most players are already asking
The leaked footage circulating over the weekend raised more questions than it answered, given it appeared to come from an older build. What the official reveal on Thursday should clarify:
- Confirmed platforms (Xbox and PC seem likely given the partnership framing, but PlayStation status is unknown)
- Whether the setting continues beyond the events of Metro Exodus
- Release window, if any is ready to share
- How much the game has evolved from whatever was seen in the leak
The key here is that 4A Games has had seven years of development time. Metro Exodus already pushed the series into open-world-adjacent territory with its sprawling Russian environments. Metro 2039 has a lot of expectations to meet, and Thursday's reveal will set the tone for how the studio plans to meet them.
Keep an eye on gaming news heading into Thursday. For everything that comes out of the Xbox First Look showcase and beyond, latest reviews and coverage will be updated as details land.
