- Executive producer Jon Bloch revealsMetro 2039‘s audio system has been rebuilt and “reimagined”
- Bloch says the new system supports the game’s “dense atmosphere“
- 4A Games’ newest game engine also offers a sense of realism in both visuals and audio
4A Games has confirmed that Metro 2039‘s audio system has been rebuilt to offer a deeper sense of immersion.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, where creative director Andriy Shevchenko and executive producer Jon Bloch discussed Metro 3039 at length, the pair revealed that the newest version of the studio‘s engine has allowed the team to take things to the next level, whether that’s improving the visual density of the game, having full ray-tracing, or an overhauled audio system.
When asked how the audio design is key to bringing the game’s post-apocalyptic world to life, Bloch called it “hugely important,” and said the audio team will come in after the level designers have completed their work to add in all the effects players will hear.
“They need to see what elements are in there,” Bloch explained. “If there’s water that needs to be dripping or, you know, if there’s a machine in the corner, like that kind of stuff, like they have to wait for level artists to do their thing first.
“But it’s hugely important, and it’s one of the reasons why we spend so much time and energy overhauling the audio system; the entire audio system has been rebuilt.”
Bloch continued, explaining that the audio system hasn’t necessarily been built from the ground up, but built upon and “reimagined in a way to really support thick, dense atmosphere” on top of the refined visuals.
“The audio system is more dense,” the developer said. “There’s a lot more going on. There are a lot more things you can hear. There’s a lot more variety when it comes to, you know, even simple things like footsteps on different materials on the ground. Every bush makes a sound when you touch it.
“The dynamics of how the player moves and what you hear in his equipment and his suit, like things that might normally be forgotten as a really important thing in some games, like the level of detail, the granularity that the audio department can get to is more than we’ve ever been able to do in Metro games, certainly.”
Metro 2039 launches in February 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.
