Release timing: Steam, Epic and GOG first
The free update reaches PC on October 22, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S following on October 29. Publisher PLAION's support FAQ lists Steam, Epic and GOG for the first date. It also says the Windows Store version is a different story: the FAQ puts it on October 29, alongside the consoles.
Coverage disagrees on this point. TheClick also gives the Windows Store PC version an October 29 date. Tbreak's launch table lists the Windows Store under October 22. The publisher FAQ is the primary source, so treat October 29 as the safer expectation for Microsoft Store owners. The patch notes still mention the Microsoft Store build, so it is covered. It just may not be live yet.
The FAQ says the upgrade is free for most owners of either game. It adds that some versions may not be compatible, so check your platform's store page.
What it is, and what it isn't
4A Games is not remaking anything. The FAQ says this is a quality-of-life upgrade, not a remaster or remake. It also says the games have not been ported to the current 4A Engine. And there is no ray tracing. PLAION says that would need a deeper reworking of the renderer, which isn't possible while the studio is busy with Metro 2039.
"Next-gen" here means modernized, not rebuilt.
PC graphics and performance changes
The DSOGaming report on the patch notes lists these PC changes:
- Unbound frame rate. The cap is gone, so FPS depends on your hardware. The notes also say bugs tied to high frame rates are fixed.
- Upscaling. 4A TSR works on any GPU, DLSS is for NVIDIA cards and FSR is for AMD.
- Image quality. The update adds screen-space global illumination, more geometry and texture detail, 4K texture support and improved PBR materials. The notes add a caveat: 4K support requires a 4K monitor.
- Audio and animation. Both are improved, and spatial audio is supported.
- PhysX. Advanced PhysX is now on by default on PC.
The notes don't say which DLSS or FSR versions are used. They give no performance figures, hardware requirements or confirmation of frame generation. Anyone promising specific FPS gains is guessing.
About the "Neural Rendering" and DLSS 5 talk
DSOGaming says a "Neural Rendering" option appears once DLSS is enabled. It notes that some people speculate this is native DLSS 5 support. The author says he was still downloading the game and hadn't tested it. The official notes don't mention the setting or DLSS 5. Treat it as an unconfirmed observation until someone tests it and confirms what it does.
Windows 11 stability fixes
The notes name Windows 11, AMD GPUs and high-refresh-rate displays as the hardware where stability improved. Those are exactly the setups where decade-old DirectX titles tend to misbehave. The listed fixes are:
- Crashes at launch and during chapter transitions
- A crash when picking up a gas mask
- Hard freezes at splash screens, at "Press Any Button" and during chapter loads
- Infinite loading and black screens after the intro logos, particularly on newer AMD hardware
- Freezes in level transitions and scripted sequences
- Crashes with newer graphics drivers
The notes give no Windows build numbers, driver versions or GPU models. If you've been stuck on a black screen, the patch targets your symptom, but it doesn't promise your exact configuration is fixed.
Display fixes for modern monitors
- Missing resolutions such as 1440p and 4K, and a limit to legacy modes like 1600×1200, are fixed.
- Fullscreen failures, stretched images and wrong aspect ratios on high-resolution monitors are fixed.
- The game now starts in full screen on first launch on 4K monitors with display scaling enabled.
- Lighting and shadows are improved, fixing pixelated bloom, broken shadows, missing volumetric lighting and white halos.
- Flickering shadows, shimmering textures, unstable SSAO and broken post-processing are fixed on modern GPUs and ultrawide displays.
- The title screen now displays correctly if the game loses focus right after launch.
Controls and saves
Controls:
- Default keyboard bindings that went missing after an earlier update are restored.
- Mouse sensitivity is fixed (it was different horizontally and vertically).
- The mouse cursor no longer sticks at the screen edge in menus and vendor screens on multi-monitor setups.
- The DualSense is now recognized in the Steam version.
- Xbox controllers are no longer only partially detected, and button remapping failures are fixed.
- The update adds DualSense adaptive triggers and Xbox impulse triggers.
Saves:
- Steam Cloud now uploads save data.
- Disappearing saves, "Continue" loading an older checkpoint, and corruption after a crash or improper shutdown are fixed.
- Crashes and infinite loading when loading a checkpoint are fixed.
- Autosave is more reliable if you quit or get interrupted mid-save.
- The game no longer creates a checkpoint when you have too little filter time left. That used to risk a death loop.
If you rely on cloud saves, it's sensible to back up your local saves before the first launch after updating. That's general advice, not something the patch notes require.
Game-specific fixes
Metro 2033 Redux:
- The Demon freezing mid-air in "Outpost" is fixed.
- "Torchlight" performance is improved.
- The armorer weapon pickup at the start, which blocked progress, is fixed.
- Khan's men freezing or firing endlessly in "Khan" is fixed, along with the freeze when loading the last checkpoint there.
- The "Library" encounter that left you stuck with no cutscene is fixed.
- The crane, magnet and lever mechanisms in "D6" now respond.
- The ending cutscene now plays.
- Instant death in toxic areas while wearing a gas mask is fixed.
- Achievements that wouldn't unlock, including "Armorer," are fixed, as is offline progress not syncing.
Metro: Last Light Redux:
- The bear staying knocked out in "The Garden" is fixed.
- Stealth takedowns and kills are restored from "Revolution" onward.
- A crash when buying the RPK into an empty third slot in Venice is fixed.
- The blocked "Khan" DLC progression is fixed.
- Falling into water and ending up out of bounds in "Nightfall" is fixed.
Across both games, a weapon stuck in an endless reload after an interrupted cobweb burn is fixed. So is enemies detecting you through walls or darkness.
Xbox handhelds, Microsoft Store and Epic
The notes add a power-optimized mode for Xbox Ally, Xbox Ally X and the Microsoft Store version. They don't describe what it changes, so no battery or performance claims can be made. PC Guide's coverage of the announcement also mentions Xbox handheld support and Xbox Play Anywhere. The Epic version gains Epic Online Services for achievements and accounts.
One note entry mentions a PS5 save-corruption fix. It's in the shared notes but doesn't apply to PC, and PS5 gets the update on October 29.
What PC players should do
- Steam: the client downloads the update the next time you launch it, per DSOGaming. Check the game's update status if it doesn't arrive.
- Epic and GOG: update through the launcher or client. The official notes don't give procedures for these stores.
- Microsoft Store: expect October 29 per PLAION's FAQ.
- After updating: confirm your monitor's native resolution appears. Then check the upscaler options for your GPU vendor.
Verdict
This isn't a remaster, and it doesn't add ray tracing. But a free update that fixes missing resolutions, launch crashes, cloud saves and controller detection on Windows 11 is a real improvement for anyone who gave up on these games. Wait for independent testing before judging the DLSS and "Neural Rendering" claims.
Update: Microsoft Store upgrade reportedly will not carry over saves (October 23, 2026)
Microsoft Store owners face a more consequential upgrade caveat than release timing: according to GamingOnLinux’s October 23 report, existing saves will not carry over to the upgraded versions of Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux. The upgrade note reproduced by the outlet recommends starting a new game. This is a separate limitation from the save-reliability fixes described above; those fixes should not be read as a promise that existing Microsoft Store progress will transfer.
There is reportedly a partial workaround. According to the same GamingOnLinux report, every chapter will be available through chapter select, allowing players to resume at a chosen chapter with default equipment. That offers an alternative to replaying from the beginning, but not continuity of an existing save or its equipment.
For players using Linux alongside Windows, GamingOnLinux also reports that the updates appear to have reached only the Windows builds, not the native Linux or macOS versions. Linux players would therefore need to run the Windows versions through Proton to access the changes. The outlet cautions that previous Steam Deck verification may need reassessment and suggests checking Metro: Last Light Redux’s Proton selection, because Valve’s earlier configuration used Proton 7.
Update: DLSS 5 evidence emerges, alongside a reported performance cost (October 23, 2026)
The earlier DLSS 5 speculation now has more concrete evidence behind it. According to tbreak’s October 23 report, player Renan Maniero identified a DLSS 5 DLL in Metro 2033 Redux matching the version used in NBA 2K27, while other players reported a DLSS-NR graphics option. Tbreak also reports Neural Rendering support in Metro: Last Light Redux. This strengthens the earlier claim, but remains distinct from an explicit announcement by 4A Games.
According to tbreak’s account of DSOGaming comparisons, the visible improvements primarily affect character faces, with less noticeable changes to environments. There is also a reported performance penalty: one screenshot pair shows frame rates dropping from 332 fps to 238 fps. That isolated comparison is not a benchmark or a reliable prediction for other Windows systems.
Tbreak reports that Neural Rendering requires GeForce RTX 50 Series hardware or RTX Spark systems; older RTX cards can still use standard DLSS upscaling. The outlet also notes that the shipping Neural Rendering model remains uncertain. For eligible PC owners, the practical takeaway is to compare image quality and frame rates rather than assume the additional option improves performance.
Update: Xbox Series X|S upgrade is now live (October 30, 2026)
Microsoft announced on Xbox Wire that the free next-gen update is now available on Xbox Series X|S. It offers a 4K 60 fps mode and an upscaled 4K 120 fps mode.
Windows Central reports that the updated Metro Redux supports Xbox Play Anywhere: buying the Xbox version also grants access on Windows PC, and vice versa. The outlet says players can continue their progress across compatible Xbox ecosystem devices.
That cross-device support does not overturn the earlier reported Microsoft Store limitation: existing saves reportedly do not carry over to the upgraded versions.