Metro author handed 8-year prison term for speaking out against Russian invasion

The author behind the Metro series of books and video games is wanted by Russian authorities after it was claimed he spread false information about Russia’s armed forces.

Dmitry Glukhovsky, whose book led to the Metro 2033 game and who contributed to its sequels Last Light and Exodus, was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Moscow court, according to The AP. However, Glukhovsky is not in Russia and was trialled in absentia.

Glukhovsky has been vocally critical of the Kremlin and was labelled a “foreign agent” in October 2022.

In April 2022, when he’d already left Russia, Glukhovsky wrote that the war in Ukraine, “unleashed by Putin is becoming more terrible and inhuman every day, and the pretexts under which it was started look more and more insignificant and false.”

After Russia invaded Ukraine, its lawmakers passed a bill that punishes those spreading “fake” information that goes against the Russian government’s narrative on the war with up to 15 years in prison.

Glukhovsky previously revealed plans to release a new entry in the post-apocalyptic Metro series. Writing on social media in 2019, he said: “The Metro gaming series will be continued. Working on the story.”

Developer 4A confirmed in November 2020 that the next game in the Metro franchise was being developed for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, and that it planned to add multiplayer to the franchise.