With a 2012 release date on the cards, THQ is taking its sweet time with Metro 2034, the sequel to last year’s post-apocalyptic hit Metro 2033. In a recent interview with Joystiq, company VP of Core Games Danny Bilson says the follow-up is undergoing heavy polish and will be “properly nurtured” in the marketing department this time around.

Expect everything you loved about Metro to return — from its gripping atmosphere to jaw-dropping visuals — only in refined form.

“Did the game need polish in certain areas? Yes.” he admitted. “So when I say it wasn’t fully supported, it was product development and marketing that didn’t support it the way it should’ve been.” Bilson described Metro 2033 as “an orphan stepchild,” saying that “a great marketer picked it up with four months to go and did what he could with four months to go, but it wasn’t properly nurtured by marketing.”

The absence of polish, Bilson assured, won’t be an issue for Metro 2034, the in-development sequel. “The new one doesn’t have any of those issues,” Bilson said. “I green-lit the sequel before [the first] one shipped, because I know what [4A Games is] capable of — I knew how cool it was.”

Further, Bilson noted that Metro 2034 will be backed by a “first-class marketing campaign” come E3. Fantastic news for fans, really. It’s clear the project is a high priority within THQ. We’re certainly looking forward to immersing ourselves in Metro’s dark and gritty setting yet again.

THQ’s Bilson: Metro 2033 ‘wasn’t properly nurtured,’ sequel to address issues [Joystiq]

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