🎮 Metro 2039 Announced, New Details About Next God of War And Massive Launch Of Windrose
Also Union Wins Against Ubisoft, Another Ashes Of Creation Controversy, Gears Of War On Netflix Receives An Update And BAFTA Awards Winners!
Hello friends,
Today is April 28th 2026 and I hope you’ve had a great week 🙌
In today’s news:
🎮 Metro 2039 Announced
🎮 New Details About Next God of War
🎮 Massive Launch Of Windrose
🎮 Union: 1 | Ubisoft: 0
🎮 Another Ashes Of Creation Controversy
🎮 Gears Of War On Netflix Receives An Update
🎮 BAFTA Awards Winners
🫡 True Tribute!
😄 Personal Update
All of this is brought to you in a 5 min format ⏲️
Let’s dig in!
🎮 Metro 2039 Announced
After almost 7 years, 4A Games is back with yet another Metro game, scheduled to be released in Winter 2026.
According to the reveal trailer, the game takes us back to the dark tunnels of the Moscow Metro, where we are placed at the centre of the new conflict. Apparently, Hunter, whom we met during Metro 2033, is now a leader of an authoritarian regime called Novoreich, who rules through propaganda and fear, subjugating the population in the name of a new war for the surface against a dark and terrifying enemy. And we’ll be playing a part of an unknown Stranger, who is haunted by violent waking nightmares. Because if not us, then who, right?
Instead of being kind of an open world, like the previous game in the franchise, 2039 is moving back to the original formula that made this game stand out. It is advertised as being dense, authored, single-player corridor survival-FPS with a bigger emphasis on tighter psychological horror. Also, the author of the series, Dmitry Glukhovsky, is collaborating with 4A Games on this game.
In the letter to the community, the developers also talked about how the message in this game has shifted since the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, how their realities changed with it and the horrors they have to endure daily. Getting electricity from generators or batteries during daily power outages, sheltering from rocket or drone attacks, not knowing when they can next heat food for their families, and that’s just to name a few. Now, instead of prevention, the game will be all about consequences and the cost of silence. As a Ukrainian myself, I can’t help but root for this game with all my heart.
And that’s aside from the fact that Metro is a very powerful franchise that delivered outstanding results. The last game in the series even reached 10 million copies sold a few years back. With the trailer that looks as good as this, proven developer track record and a clear creative identity, I can’t think of anything that might stand in their way.
🎮 New Details About Next God of War
Recently, a bunch of new information surfaced about the God of War spinoff from the Santa Monica studio, featuring Faye.
According to MP1st, besides Faye, the game will also feature Tyr, while our favourite angry Spartan only mentioned to make a short appearance. Aside from these characters, the player will have a companion that’s some kind of gelatinous cube and a talking sword, which is said to be Merlin of all people. But probably the most notable news is that this game will feature a wide variety of mythologies, rather than focusing on a single pantheon. The outlet mentions Mayan, Chinese, Japanese elements and maybe even more.
There are also speculations about the next mainline game being on the cards, and we already know about the original trilogy being remade. So, all in all, the Santa Monica studio is pretty busy these days. But, of course, as with any rumour, treat it with a grain of salt.
So far, the studio has made every game more intense than the previous one. But with every game earning more and more, like Ragnarok reaching more than 15 million copies sold in a year, it looks like Sony is trying to expand this franchise like never before. And this strategy with multiple mythologies is very smart. It lets Sony test which non-Norse, non-Greek pantheons resonate most with the community without committing the next flagship instalment to a single setting choice and acts as a lore bridge at the same time.
I only have one concern. Since Sony is shifting toward exclusivity once again, as a PC gamer, I’m afraid that a flagship IP like this will act as a lever in this direction, as it was with previous games. Now, the latest two were ported to PC eventually, but there is no guarantee that it will be the case with these games. So, I’m hoping that I’m really wrong with this 😰
🎮 Massive Launch Of Windrose
If you thought that there are no good pirate games, you might want to reconsider after you see Windrose, which launched with a canonball splash.
For those of you who don’t know what it is, Windrose is a PvE survival game akin to Skull & Bones or Sea of Thieves that features the classic “build, craft, survive” formula along with intense combat and engaging exploration on land and sea. It also supports up to 8 players in coop, with both self-hosted and dedicated servers available.
After only 2 days after releasing in Early Access, this game already reached 500,000 players, and that’s saying something as it is not free-to-play. The game’s concurrent player count is also absolutely incredible. According to Steam Charts, the game is already at almost 200,000 players and climbing. And the reviews are sitting at Very Positive, with a lot of people saying that finally someone made a pirate game we’ve been looking for.
And that is huge, considering the overall unstable performance of games in this genre. While titans like Sea of Thieves managed to surpass 40 million players a few years ago, Skull & Bones remain remarkably weak. Which makes the wins of this game even more notable.
Of course, there is also a case to be made about curiosity and a limited amount of content during Early Access. Right now, this title feels like a new and exciting thing that does only a few things, but does them really well. And it’s not uncommon, especially in a survival genre. The big question is how well this studio is going to capitalise on such a positive reception and undoubtedly strong early financial results. Since this is the debut project of Kraken Express, there are a lot of execution risks, especially in live ops.
The hardest part for them is certainly just beginning.
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🎮 Union: 1 | Ubisoft: 0
Earlier this year, we talked about Ubisoft closing one of its studios in Halifax and how the CWA Canada union sued the company. Well, it looks like the matter was resolved.
According to the official announcement, 61 employees who lost their jobs voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of a settlement with Ubisoft after CWA negotiated a settlement. And according to them, negotiations weren’t easy. That said, the terms of this settlement were not disclosed, but it looks like the impacted workers were pleased with the terms and thanked the union for negotiating this deal.
While it is great that the people who suffered this union-busting received at least some sort of compensation, it’s still very troubling that this whole situation was necessary in the first place. Of course, we still don’t know for sure whether the studio closure has anything to do with the union, as studios are being closed on a regular basis these days, but timing is too suspicious to be ignored.
And as a person who works in this industry, I have to be honest, I’m constantly stressed about all this. We work in a very passionate industry, and most of us love what we do. I’ve never seen so many people bring 110% of their efforts every single day. Not in any other industry that I worked in. And I do not doubt that the story is similar across all game development studios. Which is why it’s so mindblowing to hear how corporations constantly take advantage of that. Closing studios that could’ve still done something meaningful, denying severance, not paying salaries on time and our favourite crunches.
After so much commitment and dedication, you would think that people deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. Unfortunately, not unless it’s through lawyers.
🎮 Another Ashes Of Creation Controversy
While Askes of Creation might be dead, the controversies surrounding it are still very much alive.
Not so long ago, a bunch of allegations surfaced about the Intrepid Studios CEO, Steven Sharif, and how he spent millions of crowdfunded dollars on a luxury life instead of on the game he was developing. Which included things like private chefs, cigars, trading cards and mansion rentals. Fast forward to today, Sharif responded with an 11-page document, denying everything. He said the material being circulated was “false and defamatory,” argued it was being pushed by people with an agenda tied to an ongoing federal court fight, and specifically denied any misappropriation of Kickstarter funds. He also said the project had been financed through multiple sources, including substantial personal capital.
There is no telling whether he is telling the truth or not at this point, but I have to say, for a project and studio that are no longer operational, there sure is a lot of smoke while Sharif is trying to say there is no fire. And right now, every side is trying to control the narrative during pending litigation. The only thing I’m definitely sad about is that this whole thing happened with the game that was one of the highest-profile Western crowdfunded MMO projects of the last decade.
But with all this animosity between the studio leadership and investors, it looks like this kind of end was inevitable.
🎮 Gears Of War On Netflix Receives An Update
It’s been a while since we heard anything new about the upcoming Gears of War adaptation from Netflix, and today is the day of updates.
According to Insider Gaming, the movie director recently reconfirmed that the project is still happening and said they have a great draft in progress, which is in really good shape. He also said The Coalition Studio is really fired up, Netflix is 100% behind this movie and with the release of Gears of War E-Day on the horizon, it’s all lining up that the movie will happen.
While it’s all well and good, don’t get your hopes up that this movie will somehow coincide with the game’s release, as it’s still scheduled to be released in 2026. And if this movie is as big a project as advertised, it will probably take at least a few years to get it released.
Still, it looks like movie and TV show production companies have found yet another profitable avenue for themselves. Game adaptations are a new gold rush. But there are definitely some concerns, as with any adaptation. For example, how well are they going to stick with the source material? As we all learned the hard way, every company wants to bring their own vision to life, and sometimes it means alienating hardcore fans. And since we don’t know anything about the plot, the cast or a release date, it’s hard to be excited about it.
🎮 BAFTA Awards Winners
Yet another award ceremony was held recently in London, but you probably already know all the winners.
Unsurprisingly, most of the awards went to Expedition 33 with Best Game, Debut game and Performer in Leading Role for Jennifer English. But it was closely followed by Dispatch, which also took home three awards, specifically in Animation, Audio Achievement and Performer in a Supporting Role. And of course, Arc Raiders took home the trophy of being the best multiplayer game.
Also, if you want to check out the full list of nominees and awards, Insider Gaming has a pretty neat list.
All in all, I almost feel like BAFTA happens a little bit too early in the year for the awards, as all these games were released in 2025. But regardless, based on the results and nominations, I don’t have any strong objections, and this is refreshing, considering how The Game Awards and other ceremonies usually sit with me.
The biggest thing to note here is that the games that took most of the awards are both debut projects, and it’s not something you see every day. Nobody knew about Kepler Interactive or Ad Hoc Studios, and then suddenly, it’s all that everybody is talking about. Also, considering that both games are single-player games with zero live-service elements, I think big publishers really need to think long and hard about how many eggs they are putting in this basket.
🫡 True Tribute!
Today I wanted to salute John Murphy and Nerd Central !
First of all, I wanted to give a shout-out for reviewing games in this series. I think Darksiders is a franchise that really doesn’t receive the attention and quality it deserves. And even though I haven’t played anything beyond the first two games, I think the premise and the story are really amazing. And second of all, the review itself is, as usual, very polished and gave me some things to think about. Great work John Murphy !
😄 Personal Update
Today is a big day for Diablo 4 fans, as today is the start of Season 13 and the release date of the Lord of Hatred expansion, and I’m very excited and a little anxious.
I played a little bit during Season 12 with my friends, and it was all mostly the same stuff. Blast to level 60, grind paragon level and gear, do the same end-game activities as usual. But Blizzard advertised so heavily that they want to rework the end-game progression, and I’ve been looking forward to it. But now I’m a little bit concerned that it will somehow disappoint me or that it was all just a clever PR stunt designed for suckers like me 😅
Either way, we’ll see, but at least we have a new region, new class and more story to play through. So, that’s at least something.
This is all the news I have for you folks today.
Thanks for making it this far! 🙌
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Have a great week!
Alex from Gamedev Relay.