Metro: Last Light studio boss expresses profound regret over leaving Ukraine

Metro: Last Light developer 4A Games announced in May that it was relocating its headquarters to Malta , which "offers fantastic incentives for game development" as a member state of the European Union, which its homeland of Ukraine is not.

, which "offers fantastic incentives for game development" as a member state of the European Union, which its homeland of Ukraine is not. And while it wasn't mentioned in the announcement, ongoing unrest in the country was no doubt also a factor in the decision to pull up stakes. But a statement released by studio chief Andrew Prokhorov makes it clear that the decision to leave wasn't an easy one.

"Dear motherland, this morning we're leaving you for some time," Prokhorov wrote in atranslated for Polygonby Sergey Galyonkin of Wargaming.net. "Not because we don't love you, but because we have to — otherwise 4A Games will cease to exist — it's really hard to get investors while we're at war with [Putin]. We can understand publishers, but our hearts are sorrow and we feel like betrayers, because we're leaving our country in turmoil. We're not betrayers, we love you, Ukraine and we'll have with us a new part of Ukraine in not so distant Malta. 4A Games Malta is a Ukrainian company."

He concluded with a message that was initially seen by some as provocative, but which Galyonkin clarified is a "traditional" phrase in the Ukrainian military: "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes! Death to enemies!"

With the Malta relocation complete, it's unclear whether 4A's studio in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev is still in operation. The initial announcement of the move said it would remain open and even expand, but the conflict is growing worse and Prokhorov's statement has a distinct feeling of "farewell."