Microsoft is hosting a small Xbox showcase on April 16, 2026, which is also confirmed by multiple industry insiders. The show is expected to be branded as an ID@Xbox event that focuses on indie and third-party games. This is distinct from Microsoft's big annual Xbox Games Showcase, which has already been officially confirmed for June 7, 2026. The April 16 event is considered a "little show," as insider Jez Corden described it on a podcast.
Tom Warren confirmed on Twitter/X that the branding aligns with the ID@Xbox format. "NateTheHate," who has a strong track record on major leaks, is corroborated by "Jez Corden," naming the actual game title, and then further corroborated by "Tom Warren" on the show's branding. The probability of it being accurate rises substantially. All three sources have been reliably right about major gaming announcements in the past.
There have also been persistent rumors of a "Sony State of Play" happening around the same date in April, which had initially been cited as the potential venue for a "Metro" reveal. NateTheHate clarified he could not confirm the State of Play timing, which now points more firmly toward the Microsoft ID@Xbox show as the chosen stage.
The fact that Metro 2039 is a multi-platform title published by "Deep Silver" makes either venue plausible, but as of April 13, 2026, the Xbox showcase on April 16 is where the smart money sits. The April 16 ID@Xbox event is about third-party games, indie titles, and Game Pass additions, making it a perfect venue for a franchise like Metro.
Metro Series:
The Metro franchise began not as a video game, but as a novel. Russian author "Dmitry Glukhovsky" wrote 'Metro 2033' at age of 18 and published it online for free in 2002, where it attracted over three million readers worldwide. The story is set in a post-nuclear Moscow in the year 2033, where the survivors of a devastating nuclear war retreated underground into the city's vast metro tunnel network.
Radiation rendered the surface uninhabitable, and mutated creatures, both below ground and above, became existential threats to humanity's remnants. The novels like Metro 2033, Metro 2034, and Metro 2035, form a trilogy that became international bestsellers, translated into 35 languages, and a cultural phenomenon, particularly in Russia and Eastern Europe. Ukrainian studio 4A Games, founded by former GSC Game World developers, adapted the novels into video games, working closely with Glukhovsky himself on the story and dialogue.
Metro 2039:
Metro 2039 was first publicly surfaced by "Jez Corden" on April 11, 2026, in a now-viral two-word post: "Metro 2039. Soon." Metro 2033 was set in 2033, Exodus pushed the story to 2035, and 2039 would place the new game four years after the events of Metro Exodus. According to leaked data from a now-cancelled 2022 build of the game, the project originally featured a full open-world design, which is a significant expansion of Exodus's sandbox formula, with fan-favorite character Hunter as the protagonist, and "Bourbon and Khan" appearing as companions.
That specific build was scrapped, but insiders believe the current version of Metro 2039 carries over elements from that cancelled design. Author Dmitry Glukhovsky is reportedly back on board as a creative collaborator. Rumors also suggest a more dynamic weather system, deeper crafting mechanics, and the first Metro game built entirely from the ground up for current-generation hardware.
Questions:
- What are your thoughts on Metro 2039?
- What else do you expect from this upcoming ID@Xbox event?
- What's your experience playing Metro series?
Let me know in the comments, where you can also provide the latest news so I can make a breakdown of it.
Do you know that Poiyomi, the developer behind VRChat's most-used shader, has reportedly been hacked? The Discord server is locked and all channels closed. Check out for further details in my previous article.