4A Games, the developer behind the highly successful Metro franchise, has recently been purchased by Embracer Group, a Swedish video game holding company. And before you ask, no, the purchase wasn't made in bullets, but rather to the tune of $36 million.

If you're not familiar with Embracer Group that's fair, as it was known as THQ Nordic until September of last year. That's not to be confused with the THQ Nordic that still operates under Embracer Group and recently published  SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated. Instead, Embracer Group is a massive holding company with multiple publishers under its wing, each of which has multiple developers under their own.

In this case, 4A Games was purchased by Embracer Group through Saber Interactive, which 4A will act as an independent studio under. In a press release from Embracer Group, 4A Games CEO Dean Sharpe announced his excitement and teased the next project the studio will be working towards. "Embracer Group and Saber Interactive are the perfect partners for 4A Games and for our next phase of growth. Together we will continue to build on the Metro franchise and will focus on bringing a multiplayer experience to our fanbase."

Of course, what really stands out there is Sharpe's last sentence. The Metro franchise has always focused on single-player content and has only ventured out of linear level design in the latest entry in the series, Metro: Exodus. To come out, in a press release of all venues, and hint towards a multiplayer experience for the Metro series is surprising first and exciting second. No other information on a new title from 4A, Metro or not, wasn't hinted at in the press release.