According to Metro Exodus developer 4A Games, the game has been top secret since the team initially thought that creating it wouldn’t be possible.

　　Many wondered whether Ukrainian developer 4A Games would ever release a new Metro game following the announcement of ARTIKA.1, but in secret, the studio was already hard at work on the game. Being a small studio that wants to create AAA-quality games, and compete with the best game developers in the world, 4A Games has kept Metro Exodus tucked away until the team was confident that they were able to deliver.

　　That’s what the studio’s creative developer, Andriy Prokhorov, stated during a recent interview with Polygon, most probably referring to the much bigger non-linear environments in Exodus compared to the previous Metro games.

　　“Why have we kept silent for so long?” Prokhorov asked Polygon. “Because three years ago, we thought this game was almost impossible.”

　　According to Prokhorov, Metro series’ author Dmitry Glukhovsky is always pushing the team to try out new things however, and figure out why some things are thought impossible at first.

　　“It’s really hard work, because [Glukhovsky] is very passionate in person”, the creative director explained. “He’s always trying to get us to do more. ‘Let’s do that!’ Well, you know, it’s technically not impossible, but it’s just not possible. ‘But why?!’”

　　Metro Exodus was announced during Microsoft’s E3 briefing last month, and is slated for a release on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 next year.

　　“We are so proud to finally be able to reveal our next Metro game to the world, and would like to thank all the Metro fans for their patience,” said Prokhorov following the game’s announcement. “Metro Exodus has been in development for three years between our Malta and Kyiv studios, and represents our most ambitious project yet.”