Metro: Last Light will not ship with a competitive multiplayer component, as had been originally planned, developer 4A Games explained on its website. A representative from the company revealed that multiplayer for Metro: Last Light never much of a focus for the studio anyway.

"We never dedicated too many resources to the MP component beyond prototyping; it never entered full production," reads a line from the statement. "By making the decision when we did, we think the single player campaign will benefit as a result."

The statement goes on to say that it was "probably a mistake" to have announced the multiplayer component in the first place. However, just because multiplayer will not ship with Metro: Last Light, the possibility was left open for it to arrive later.

"Right now we’re 100 percent focused on the single-player campaign and not thinking beyond that," the statement explains. "We don’t like throwing away work though. [Metro: Last Light multiplayer is] a project we could potentially return to after Metro: Last Lightships."

Lastly, the developer confirmed that this news will not affect the release of Metro: Last Light, which is slated for sometime during early 2013 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. For more on Metro: Last Light, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.