Metal Gear Solid 6: everything we know so far

Will there ever be a Metal Gear Solid 6? Though it’s been a long time since Metal Gear Solid 5 graced our screens, the Metal Gear series is sufficiently iconic and rooted in gaming history that we think it unlikely for Konami to abandon the series entirely. 

The Metal Gear games are a series of third-person stealth action games which follow a sprawling decades-long saga. The games deal with themes of family, free will, and nuclear proliferation, often using over-the-top melodrama and cinematic flair to explore nuanced and difficult topics.

The stealth action elements of Metal Gear have always placed an emphasis on resourcefulness and lateral thinking, famously rewarding players for out-of-the-box strategies which, ironically, sometimes involve hiding in boxes. The most recent entry in the franchise, 2018’s Metal Gear: Survive, was Konami’s first attempt at a new  Metal Gear since the departure of the series’ creator, Hideo Kojima. It attempted to add co-op survival elements to the stealth formula but was widely regarded as a failure. Hopefully, a sequel will give Konami a chance to learn from its mistakes.

Spoilers ahead for the Metal Gear series.   

Metal Gear Solid 6: cut to the chase

• What is it? The unconfirmed sixth game in the Metal Gear Solid series
• When’s it out? TBC
• What can I play it on? TBC

Metal Gear Solid 6 release date and platforms

Metal Gear is in a weird sort of limbo right now. Hideo Kojima, now working at his own studio, has long since severed ties with Konami. However, Konami still owns the rights to the series. So far, Konami has only released one Kojima-free Metal Gear title: Metal Gear Survive. Released in 2018, this co-op zombie survival game was poorly received.

Alas, though there was a trailer for Death Stranding 2 at The Video Game Awards 2022, there was no sign of any Metal Gear announcements from Konami. 

What it has confirmed on the game’s 35th anniversary is that it’s working on putting Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 back on sale after they were delisted in late 2021. Good news, though not what we were hoping for. 

We imagine if Metal Gear Solid 6, or some new series entry, is on the way, then it will arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC at the very least.

Metal Gear Solid 6 news

Not the anniversary announcement we expected

Metal Gear Solid’s 35th anniversary took place on July 13, 2022 and while it would have been the perfect time to announce any kind of new project in the works, Konami didn’t do so. It was, however, confirmed by the Metal Gear official account that the publisher is working on bringing back Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, which were delisted towards the end of 2021. 

At the moment, there’s no exact date for when they will be back.

Metal Gear Solid 6: what we want to see

Metal Gear Solid 6 may not have been confirmed by Konami, but here’s what we would want to see in a new Metal Gear Solid game.

Return to the sandbox
Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain saw a marked shift in the Metal Gear Solid format. In a similar way to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the games took the essential elements of the Metal Gear series and spun them anew within a sandbox environment. 

A game known for enclosed environments where you had to identify and navigate enemy patrols, became an open space for you to assert control over. The change in philosophy rejuvenated the series and any sequel should continue that, better tying together the wealth of changes Metal Gear Solid 5 introduced.

More sci-fi nonsense

As much as I enjoyed Metal Gear Solid 5, I did find the trappings of the 1980s somewhat limiting, especially compared with the over-the-top bombast of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. As much as I love the more understated and historical side of Metal Gear, I know I’m not alone in missing the awesome giant mech fights of Metal Gear Solid 4. Metal Gear has always been eerily prescient when it’s looked toward the future, and I’d love to see more.

Story
Metal Gear Solid 5 ended with the revelation that you hadn’t been playing as Big Boss, but as a man who had been brainwashed and surgically altered to think and look like he was Big Boss. It was a leftfield twist but one that explains how Snake kills Big Boss twice in the Metal Gear games. 

In the first Metal Gear, Snake kills the doppelganger (aka ‘Venom’ Snake) and in Metal Gear 2 he kills the real Big Boss. 

There are many places where Metal Gear Solid 6 could pick up the story but a likely candidate would be right after the events of 5, either as Big Boss establishing Outer Heaven, his renegade state, and developing the Metal Gear walking battle tank – which would give fans a chance to re-meet characters like Grey Fox and Dr Pettrovich, though from a new perspective; or, Konami could take a leaf out of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance‘s book and focus on the future of Metal Gear and the long-term consequences of its characters’ actions. 

Unanswered questions
While Konami disputes it, many people feel Metal Gear Solid 5 is unfinished. The game’s final mission, Episode 51, was literally cut from the game, so there is little resolution with Eli, Big Boss’ clone. At one point he steals a mech from your base and disappears and you just never give chase. While The Phantom Pain’s collector’s edition revealed what would have happened in the cut mission, it would be great to actually be able to play that final part, and to see Eli, the boy soldier become Liquid Snake, your nemesis throughout Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, and 4.

Hideo Kojima’s departure from Konami doesn’t have to spell the end for Metal Gear Solid. However, if the publisher is going to continue its most famous series then it’s got a lot to live up to.

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