Konami’s remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater sounds like it will be the beginning of a series of new projects in the franchise created by a “new team,” according to comments from producer Noriaki Okamura.
In a new video released Monday for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, the name of Konami’s upcoming MGS 3 remake, Okamura tells longtime Snake voice actor David Hayter that his team, which includes “plenty of people on the team who were part of the original games,” has “been entrusted with the future of Metal Gear.”
“We want the players to be able to judge for themselves whether this new team is right for the job of keeping Metal Gear going,” Okamura said, referring to the team’s work on Metal Gear Solid Delta and the recently released Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection compilation.
In his discussion with Hayter, Okamura opaquely addressed the departure of former Metal Gear creatives, like Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa. While he does not explicitly name them, he says, “Everyone who is no longer working on Metal Gear is pursuing their own path now, and that’s going to remain the case for these titles.” That’s a pretty solid indicator that Konami plans on (re)making more Metal Gear without the involvement of its original creator.
Okamura previously worked with Kojima and team on games like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. He was also a producer on the poorly received 2018 game Metal Gear Survive, the only original Metal Gear project released after Hideo Kojima left Konami.
The Metal Gear Solid 3 remake could represent a fresh start for the franchise at a post-Kojima Konami. The 2024 game was selected to be lavishly remade in Unreal Engine 5 due to its place in the overall Metal Gear timeline, Konami told IGN last year; Snake Eater is an origin story for Naked Snake/Big Boss, and the first game chronologically in the franchise. In other words, it’s a smart place to start to bring in new fans who may not be well-versed in the MGS series’ era-jumping sequels.
If Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a success, and Konami does continue to remake games, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker would be next in line chronologically. Those two early Cold War-era follow-ups to Snake Eater also star Big Boss — not Solid Snake — and would be able to build on the foundation of Metal Gear Solid Delta, using characters and assets from Metal Gear Solid Delta.
When future Metal Gear remakes will come to pass is still unknown, as is the release date Metal Gear Solid Delta. The remake was originally pitched as a 2024 release, but Konami hasn’t said anything this past week about Delta arriving this year, even as it sets pre-orders live. A 2025 release is starting to look more likely.
For now, Metal Gear fans will have to pass the time poring over new gameplay details released on Sunday in a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid Delta at the Xbox Games Showcase.
