Metal Gear Solid back with remake years after Kojima left Konami

Metal Gear is one of the best-selling video game series in history, shifting more than 60 million copies.

The series pioneered cinematics in gaming by blending cutting-edge cutscenes, voice acting and dynamic camera angles to create something that would have looked more at home on the big screen at the time.

Metal Gear tackled themes not commonly seen in games, such as nuclear disarmament and child soldiers, and posed philosophical questions while also leveraging offbeat humour.

The games would often break the fourth wall and ask players to find solutions to puzzles in unusual ways – such as looking on the back cover of the game’s physical box.

The series’ significant place in gaming history meant fans were stunned when its creator Hideo Kojima quit game publisher Konami in an acrimonious split in 2015.

One of gaming’s biggest titles was left directionless – and there’s been no game in the best-selling series since.

But now, a decade later, Konami has released a remake of the third game in the series: Metal Gear Solid Delta.

So what happened between Konami and Kojima, and how does the new game hold up without its original creator?

“The impact Metal Gear has had on game-making makes it one of the most heralded entertainment franchises in the world, and made Hideo Kojima one of the industry’s most famous creators,” industry expert Christopher Dring told the BBC.

With such success, you might think it was a match made in heaven, but there were issues bubbling under the surface.

While nothing has been said publicly, one generally accepted theory behind the split relates to the spiralling cost of 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V, estimated by some at more than $80m (£59m) – a very significant development cost at the time.

It is not known exactly what happened between Konami and Kojima, but the studio was clearly fed up with the amount of money he was spending to make a single game – with Kojima’s internal studio actually removed from promotional materials for Metal Gear Solid V at the time.

Konami got the game out the door, but it seemed to be scaled back from its original vision despite the high cost, with repeated levels and a third chapter that never emerged.

Even so, the game still received excellent reviews and won several awards, but the rift between company and creator seemed unfixable.

And in an act that proved highly controversial – and perhaps shows how heated things had become behind the scenes – when Metal Gear Solid V won an award, Konami informed the developer he was not allowed to collect it.

A few months later, Kojima was gone, and in the years that followed, his former studio pivoted.

“Konami shifted its strategy for a while, away from console games, and focused its efforts on the amusements markets, things like pachinko machines,” Mr Dring said.

“They also focused increasingly on mobile.”

It meant Konami’s other classic franchises like Castlevania and Silent Hill also went without new games for a decade.

Meanwhile, Kojima’s new studio signed a blockbuster deal with Sony to develop the monster hit Death Stranding for PlayStation, followed by a sequel this year.

Gaming has pivoted towards remakes in recent years.

High-profile games like Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy VII and Demon’s Souls, all classics in their day, have been remade with the benefits of modern graphics and game design to big fanfare – and strong sales figures.

“It’s a hugely lucrative and growing sector,” said Mr Dring.

“The industry is getting older, gamers are entering middle age and are nostalgic for classic titles.

Mr Drings points out that one of the best-selling games of the year so far is Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion Remastered, a remake of a classic Role-Playing Game (RPG) from 2007, selling millions of copies since its release in April.

Konami has begun a return to publishing games by focusing in this area, with a Silent Hill remake coming last year and a new Survival Kids game released earlier in 2025.

So it is a potentially lucrative move – but is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater the right game to remake?

Fans of the series told the BBC Metal Gear Solid 3 was chosen for good reason.

YouTuber Zak Ras said there was “immense significance” behind the game.

“Most people will say their favourite entry to the series is either Metal Gear Solid 1 or 3,” he said.

“Story-wise, given that it’s the first prequel set at the very beginning of the series timeline, it’s one of the few entries you can go into completely blind with absolutely no required knowledge of the series, other than very first Metal Gear from 1987.”

Ras said Metal Gear Solid 3 struck a good balance between gameplay and cinematic storytelling, making it a good choice for people who have never played a game in the series before.

For example, the game opens with an introduction heavily influenced by James Bond films, meaning new fans are eased into the series’ weirder elements.

And the brothers behind PythonSelkan Studios – known as Python & Selkan to their 122,000 YouTube subscribers – agreed.

“Completing the game was an incredible experience in itself,” they said. “Snake Eater’s gut-wrenching ending is what stood out most, leaving an impact on us that no other game had ever left before.”

“This game holds a special place in our hearts,” they added.

The brothers said, as lifelong fans of the series, they were “incredibly excited” by the announcement.

The pair are currently playing the remake, and have been “very impressed” by its improved graphics and audio.

They described the game as a “truly a faithful recreation”, adding that it improved “the essence of the original without changing its fundamental structure”.

So far so good for Metal Gear Solid without Hideo Kojima – which Ras put down to the game being true to the original.

One example he highlights is that the voice performances have been kept the same, and players can choose whether to use the original control scheme or a more modern take.

“There’s no doubt it is Kojima’s directorial ‘genes’ that are being dominantly expressed here,” he said.

“Kojima expressed a desire to move on from Metal Gear since as early as MGS2 and leave the series in the hands of others to continue.

“It may have taken him another 14 years and five director credits for that to happen, but it is now reality.”

And however the remake fares with fans, one household won’t be picking up a new copy – Kojima himself has laughed off the suggestion that he would play the new game.