4A Games has revealed the first details on its next project, revealing that the game will be "less linear" than previous titles Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light and feature "a more sand-box-style experience".
Talking to Digital Foundry, CTO Oles Shishkovstov revealed that 4A had been "working on a new game" alongside next-gen re-release Metro Redux. "We had the production resource free to handle Redux while the next project was in early pre-production," he said, "although now the Redux team are needed on the next project as we ramp up!"
He continued: "For the game we are working on now, our designers have shifted to a more sand-box-style experience - less linear but still hugely story-driven. I will not go into details, but it requires some work from programmers as well.
"Also, we are improving graphics in very different aspects, like recently we did a physically-based global ambient occlusion (instead of local, like SSAO). I will not talk about PBR (physically-based rendering) here, because here we are at the stage when artists are still adapting their mentality to it."
But while 4A achieved 60fps for Metro Redux, the next title may target just 30fps, Shishkovstov says.
"Actually for the next unannounced project, the designers want more and more of everything (as usual)," he continued, "and quite possibly we will target 30fps."
