Metro 2033 Redux and Last Light Redux get a free current-gen update

Owners of Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux are getting a free current-gen update, with the PC version arriving on 22 October and the console versions following on 29 October. 4A Games and publisher Deep Silver confirmed the release alongside news that the Metro series has now sold 50 million copies.

What the update actually adds

This is not a remaster or a remake. 4A Games says the original Redux experience and its aesthetic have been preserved, and the work is aimed squarely at modern hardware. The headline addition is 4K textures across all platforms, joined by improved animation fidelity, higher-quality audio and richer environmental detail, plus a batch of community-driven bug fixes and quality-of-life changes.

On console the update adds native support for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Series X|S. 4A Games cites PSSR support on PS5 Pro, TSR upscaling and anti-aliasing on Xbox Series X, and Spatial Audio on Xbox platforms. True 4K at 60 frames per second is the target, with upscaled 4K at 120fps available where the display allows, and the release also brings higher-quality lighting, shadows and particle effects.

Controllers are part of the package too, with Adaptive Triggers on the DualSense and Impulse Triggers on Xbox pads. Consoles also pick up hardware tessellation and displacement at runtime, Xbox Power Optimized Mode, PlayStation Power Saver Mode, and Xbox Handheld and Xbox Play Anywhere support. On PC the update adds DLSS and spatial audio. Full patch notes are promised at launch.

Fifty million Metro-dwellers

The milestone framing matters. 4A Games notes that the franchise began with Metro 2033 16 years ago and has now passed 50 million copies sold, and the update is being positioned as a thank-you to the people who got it there. It also doubles as a run-up to Metro 2039, which launches on 4 February 2027.

Two caveats come straight from the announcement. This is an enhancement pass rather than a rebuild, so the detailed technical picture and the platform-by-platform changelog are being held back until launch. Japanese console players also get their version in November, a little after everyone else.

Our opinion

Free update announcements usually mean a resolution bump and a press release, so the restraint is more interesting than the generosity. 4A Games is explicitly refusing to sell these two games a second time, with no “definitive edition” and no upgrade fee, which is the opposite of how the industry normally treats a decade-old favourite with a sequel on the horizon. The risk runs the other way as well. DLSS, PSSR and a 120fps mode are the easy part, and what decides whether the Redux pair hold up is whether the gloom survives the sharpening. Metro’s power has always come from decay you can almost smell rather than pixel counts, and if the 4K pass sandblasts the grime off those tunnels the update will have made the games worse in the only way that matters.