Metal Gear Solid fans have been left in limbo since Metal Gear Solid 5 released back in 2015, and series creator Hideo Kojima parted ways with Konami, owner and publisher of the franchise. Rumors have circled around a Metal Gear remake since the poorly received Metal Gear Survive launched in 2018, and it seems that those rumors are now coming into focus.
However, it’s now looking as though, for the first time, Konami will be outsourcing this key tentpole franchise to a third party developer.
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As spotted by Video Games Chronicle, a programmer at Chinese studio Virtuous has shared details of an unannounced remake project on their LinkedIn page, with all evidence pointing to it being a Metal Gear remake.
Lead Programmer Zhiyang Li states that the project has been in the works since October 2018, and that it will feature “[triple-A] quality level art”, 4K graphics and “set piece destruction”.
Though no explicit reference to Metal Gear Solid is made, it would substantiate an earlier report from VGC that series high-point, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, is being rebuilt from scratch at Virtuous.
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Konami’s key franchises, also including Silent Hill and Castlevania, have been left floundering at the Japanese studio while its direction steered towards gatcha games, pachinko machines and mobile titles. But this year has seen it apparently look at reviving its back catalogue, with rumors stating that it is easing its attitude to having third-party studios doing the heavy lifting with its most beloved games. New entries in the Silent Hill and Castlevania series are now said to be underway using this approach.
So what to make of the Virtuous rumor? The company has a great track record with ports, with particular skill in bringing games to the Nintendo Switch. Virtuous worked on the excellent Dark Souls Remastered, The Outer Worlds and Bioshock Collection ports. Could Virtuous bring Solid Snake back to Nintendo’s consoles? It’d be the first time the series would have featured on a Nintendo console (outside of Smash Brothers cameos) since another remake: Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes on the Gamecube.
The company is also no stranger to high-end current-gen titles either, It’s also provided support work and art to Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4 and Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn.
Would series creator Kojima return? Unlikely – Kojima Productions seems entirely focussed on original works, and an apparent falling out between Kojima and senior Komani management makes a partnership currently seem far-fetched.
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