4A Games Ukraine put Ukraine on the game dev map with the Metro series. Now it is renaming itself as Reburn and is unveiling a new intellectual property called La Quimera.
While Metro took place in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity moved into the Metro underground beneath a nuclear-bombed Moscow, La Quimera is a brighter game set in Latin America, said Dmytro Lymar, founder and CEO of Reburn, in an interview with GamesBeat.
The sci-fi shooter game, La Quimera, is available for wishlisting now and it will debut on the PC via Steam. It’s an exciting game with a pretty intense trailer, and it comes from the acclaimed maker of Metro 2033 (2010), Metro: Last Light (2013) and Metro Exodus (2019). (Metro Awakening (2024 VR title) was made separately by Vertigo Games via Embracer).
In moving on from its established IP, Kyiv, Ukraine-based Reburn is doing something rare. Most game companies get addicted to sequels. But Reburn is taking a risk on brand new IP.
La Quimera takes place across a breathtaking Latin American megalopolis and lush jungle setting, where the player steps into the customizable exosuit of a down-on-their-luck PMC soldier battling against rival factions.
The world and narrative of La Quimera is written and created by Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, The Neon Demon) and E.J.A. Warren. Combining Latin American folklore with highly advanced weaponry and technology, La Quimera will be playable in single-player or with up to two friends in co-op — for a total of three players.
Fans of the team’s past work will enjoy familiar tense gunplay and intimate storytelling combined with new game experiences through unique and highly detailed environments, characters and weapons. (There is no multiplayer version).
“After working on Metro, we decided to kind of step into a bit brighter setting, but we still kept the game focused on the story. That’s what we are good at with all the experience from Metro games,” Lymar said. “The game is set in Latin America in the future, with more modern technologies. It gives us a little bit to experiment with, and monsters are replaced by robots, which is also kind of an interesting twist.”
In the game, players take on a role of operatives of one of the private military companies, which has seen better times. That’s where the story starts. You are one of the main operatives in the story.
La Quimera reveal trailer
“Reburn is proud to introduce La Quimera, which draws upon our success crafting narrative-driven shooter games for the Metro series,” said Lymar. “We look forward to sharing this mysterious new world with players and hope they revel in suiting up to join the fight.”
Reburn’s roster of more than 110 developers’ past work includes gameplay design, art, sound engineering, programming, and more from across the entire Metro series as well as the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Oleksandr Kostiuk serves as project lead on La Quimera. Lymar has worked in games since 2006, and previously served as director and CEO of 4A Games Ukraine.
More La Quimera game information and supporting visuals will be shared in the coming months from Reburn. Check out the official Reburn website at , wishlist on Steam, and follow Reburn on Facebook, Discord, YouTube, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for regular updates on the development and game.
The game doesn’t really have magic realism, but there is some mysticism in it. And it references the ancient cultures of Latin America, like Mayan cultures and some death cults.
“We also have serious topics that are relatable to the modern world, like trying to differentiate truth and fake news, and political changes happening the world,” he said. “We do not cover the war much in the game itself, but it has some relatable topics.”
Splitting in two
4A Games was founded in Kyiv in Ukraine in 2006, and development of Metro 2033 began. The company built its own 4A game engine.
In 2007, 4A Ukraine worked through its Cyprus office to sign a deal with THQ to fund development and publishing of Metro 2033. The IP rights went to THQ as part of the deal, but the IP rights to the game engine stayed with 4A Ukraine.
The title came out in 2010 and it was a hit as a triple-A game. Then THQ signed up for the development of Metro Last Light.
But in 2012, THQ went bankrupt and the rights to Metro Last Light were acquired in an auction by Koch Media, operating under the Deep Silver trademark.
In 2014, Russia attacked Ukraine for the first time. Part of the team left and founded their own studio in Malta.
“The situation was not that great, and some people wanted to leave the country. We arranged and helped them out a bit, and they have set up a studio in Malta,” Lymar said.
That studio became 4A Malta, and they agreed to jointly develop a third game, Metro Exodus. Both studios worked together closely on it. The Metro Exodus title released in 2019, and both studios had grown enough to want to work on their own games independently.
In 2020, 4A Malta was acquired by Embracer Group, which also owns the Metro IP. But 4A Ukraine received additional funding to independently fund its own development of a new project based on its own IP, La Quimera. And now it has rebranded as Reburn. The 4A trademark remained with 4A Malta, but both firms can use the 4A engine. Reburn has been working away, but it had to deal with both the 2022 Russian invasion and COVID-19 as well.
“It was disruptive, but it brought people together more. We felt this support of each other much greater during this point in time. There were quite a lot of challenges we have. Lyman was sharing a built with investors on the morning when the war started in February 2022. But the team managed to work on.
The name Reburn evokes the word “reborn,” and it is akin to a reincarnation of something, Lymar said. As for surviving the business disruption of the war, Lymar said, “I would say we have no other choice, which makes it easier. The support of each other is just great from the team and we support the army. We get quite a lot of support from all over the world as well, which we’re grateful for. We really hope it will work out.”