METAL GEAR SOLID: SET FOR A COMEBACK?
A producer for the Metal Gear Solid series at Konami has hinted at plans for the series that will be revealed in 2023, suggesting that fans have a lot to look forward to in the new year. Whether or not Konami will continue to support the Metal Gear Solid series and its other franchises has been a topic of speculation for years. However, with the recent unveiling of multiple Silent Hill projects, Konami proved that it was once again on the right track and inevitably the next logical step was to revisit the Metal Gear video game series, one of their most successful Konami projects to date.
It is understandable that Konami would start off with Silent Hill instead of Metal Gear, owing to some of the past failings with the latter. Silent Hill is generally considered by Konami and industry watchers as the safer project for Konami to make a resurgence.
Why Konami would take a Cautious Approach on Metal Gear Solid
There are several reasons why Konami would rather tread carefully with their Metal Gear project. For starters, the creator of Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima, left Konami under very controversial circumstances. While Konami may not want to publicly admit the significance of his departure to the Metal Gear project, most observers would argue that this remains a primary issue. The second reason worth mentioning relates to the series’ final installment which was disappointing and left a lot to be desired. While many players enjoyed Metal Gear Solid 5, some felt that it was overly repetitive and lacked a satisfying conclusion.
Metal Gear Revival Divides Fans
Fans of the Metal Gear Solid series have reason to wonder whether or not Konami plans to revive the series, and if so, in what form. In any case, hopefully, we’ll have these details soon. Noriaki Okamura, a long-time member of the Metal Gear Solid development team, recently spoke with Famitsu and dropped hints about some exciting things in store for 2023. Okamura promises that 2023 will be full of “many announcements,” including a “long-awaited” reveal.
It must be said that Okamura’s comments did not actually point to a much anticipated Metal Gear release and in truth his references could equally be linked to other successful Konami projects like Castlevania and Contra. But that doesn’t stop some die-hard Metal Gear fans from assuming that Okamura’s statement hinted at the development of a new Metal Gear Solid game, given his history of collaboration with Konami. However, it is worth reminding everyone at this point that Okamura is the producer of many of Konami’s best-selling games, not just Metal Gear Solid.
Nevertheless, fans of Metal Gear Solid find Okamura’s hints even more exciting because they come after news about a major rumor making its rounds in the gaming community. The rumor is that Konami has given Singapore studio Virtuos the right to remake Metal Gear Solid, similar to how it gave Silent Hill 2 to the Bloober Team. It is also rumored to be a PS5-only game, and that an announcement is likely to happen sometime in 2023.
Although it’s unclear whether these rumors and reports are true, but then again, it is also true that similar leaks and rumors preceded Konami’s announcements of Silent Hill, which eventually turned out to be fact. Although skepticism is warranted, 2023 may finally be the year Metal Gear fans have been hoping for. A full seven years have passed since Kojima’s departure from Konami. Perhaps Konami should reevaluate its decision to cancel Metal Gear Solid or maybe they already have.
