Metro Exodus developer Andrii ‘Nizrok’ Korzinkin killed defending Ukraine

metro.co.uk:

An animator working at 4A Games has been killed by Russian forces in Ukraine, during a ‘combat mission’ in the country.

It’s not something many gamers will have realised before the Russian invasion, but Ukraine has one of the most active game development communities in Eastern Europe, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developer GSC Games World, Metro Exodus creator 4A Games, and major studios for Ubisoft, Crytek, Gameloft, and Wargaming.

4A Games is arguably the most famous, having worked on the Metro series since 2010. They haven’t formally announced a new title since 2019’s Metro Exodus but are known to be working on both a fourth mainline game and a multiplayer spin-off. Or at least that was the plan before the Russian invasion of their homeland.

Like so many Ukrainians, ordinary developers have ended up joining the military to defend their country and sadly it’s been confirmed that animator Andrii ‘Nizrok’ Korzinkin has been killed while ‘performing a combat mission in the struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.’

4A Games parent company Saber Interactive offered to relocate staff outside of the Ukraine as soon as the invasion happened, but Korzinkin did not take up the offer and instead chose to risk his life to defend his country.

The news was first reported by Leonid Stepanov at Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment, who described Korzinkin as ‘a talented animator, incredible person and real hero.’

4A Games later confirmed the news with a tweet, stating that Korzinkin was killed on September 24 near Mykolaiv, in the south of the country – at the frontline of the current Ukraine offensive.

He had previously helped his parents escape from the city of Mariupol, which is currently under Russian