4A Games is moving to Malta to work on a new Metro game

Metro 2033 developer 4A Games is relocating from its original hub in the Ukraine to Malta while developing a new and currently unannounced title in the Metro series, the company announced.

According to the developer, Malta's position as a state in the European Union will help the company compete at an international level. While 4A will continue to keep its Ukraine office, the new Malta studio will become its headquarters. Likewise, managers will begin making the move to the new building.

"Malta offers fantastic incentives for game development, and we are confident 4A Games will be able to attract the very best talent from Ukraine, Malta and beyond," head of business development Dean Sharpe said.

Co-founder Andrew Prokhorov added: "This marks the start of a new chapter for 4A Games. We are proud of our achievements as a young studio, and humbled by the response to our output so far. The team is looking forward to this new adventure."

The studio also confirmed it "continues to work on un-announced titles within the Metro universe as well as further, un-announced projects".

A recent report on Eastern European development blog Red Buzz said that "every single developer" in Ukraine's capital Kiev has "some kind of escape plan, in case things go badly." Read our report on Ukrainian developers moving West in the face of political turmoil.

Earlier this year, publisher Deep Silver announced that the studio would bring the Metro franchise to new consoles in the form of Metro Redux. The title would reportedly consist of remastered versions of both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, along with their DLC.