Metro 2039 is going to be the first new mainline instalment in the Metro franchise in more than half a decade. The last major Metro game, Metro Exodus, came out in February 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. Given that this game wrapped up the story of series protagonist Artyom, there was much doubt in the Metro fanbase as to whether a fourth mainline game in the franchise would ever be released. But, lo and behold, those concerns have firmly been nullified.
Despite being a sequel to Metro Exodus, Metro 2039 follows a completely new protagonist called the Stranger. In the game, players have to venture into the Moscow Metro stations, which contain factions that are being led by a neo-Nazi group called the Novoreich. The story of the game has largely been kept under wraps, but we do know that it will feature less moral greyness than previous Metro titles.
All Physical Versions of Metro 2039 Will Require a Download in Order to Be Played
When Metro 2039 is released on 4 February 2027, it will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in both digital and physical formats. However, those interested in purchasing the physical versions of Metro 2039 may be disappointed to learn that the game will not come complete on-disc. According to the official Metro 2039 account, in fact, all physical copies will “require an initial download as the game does not fit fully on one disc.”
Though publisher Deep Silver could have printed Metro 2039 on two discs to ensure that the game was playable without any downloads, it has opted not to do this. This decision was apparently made to ensure that the Metro community “gets to experience the game at the same time.” Once the game is downloaded, it does not otherwise require internet.
As many people have understandably pointed out, the reasoning behind this decision doesn’t exactly seem very sound. Even without a complete physical release, there is still a very decent chance that digital copies of Metro 2039 will get leaked online prior to its launch. The lack of physical releases do not necessarily prevent situations like this from happening.
Putting Metro 2039 on Two Discs Wouldn’t Have Been That Difficult
Printing Metro 2039 on two discs would, in theory, also have not been that costly. While the lack of a complete physical release on Xbox is somewhat understandable, given that Xbox discs can only carry a maximum of 50 GB, the omission of a full physical PS5 release is especially odd, given that PS5 discs can each store 100 GB of data.
At the end of the day, though, this unfortunate announcement is yet another sign that physical media is nearing its end. PlayStation has already announced its plans to abandon physical media starting in January 2028, and Xbox may very well follow suit. Nintendo has said that it will continue to support physical media, but Metro 2039 is not launching on Nintendo consoles. Even if it did, though, it would almost certainly be released as a game-key card due to its large file size.
