Konami has announced that a number of Metal Gear Solid games will return to sale as the series celebrates its 35th anniversary.
The first entry in the stealth action series – Metal Gear – launched on July 13th, 1987 for the MSX2 in Japan. The fledgling Konami franchise would later spring onto PS1 and has since remained a firm favourite thanks to its cast of iconic characters, smart twists, and tense tactical gameplay.
In a message from the official Metal Gear Twitter account (translated via Google) Konami has confirmed that sales of certain MGS games will resume. Hopefully, this isn’t the only news we see from the 35th anniversary celebration.
1987年7月13日に発売された『METAL GEAR』シリーズは、本日35周年を迎えました。
一時販売を停止しておりますタイトルにおいて、販売再開のための準備を進めております。 #METALGEAR #MG35th pic.twitter.com/X7RL5du2qE— メタルギア公式 (METAL GEAR) (@metalgear_jp) July 13, 2022
We assume this notice is in relation to the removal of Konami’s MGS remasters from storefronts. In November 2021, Konami shocked fans by pulling the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection from digital storefronts. This effected numerous MGS games on various platforms, including PS3, PS Vita Nvidia Shield, and Xbox 360. It also resulted in the collection vanishing from Sony’s game streaming service, PS Now.
Published by Konami in 2011 and developed by the Sony-owned Bluepoint Games, HD Collection included remasters for MGS2: Sons of Liberty, MGS3: Snake Eater, and MGS: Peace Walker.
According to Konami, Metal Gear Solid 2 and its Cold War sequel feature licensed archive footage. These licenses had expired and need to be renewed if these games are to be sold on the PlayStation Store and other digital marketplaces in future.
The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection originally launched more than 10 years ago. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions also included Peace Walker which seems to be exempt from the licensing issues that have recently emerged.
Since the awful zombie-infested Metal Gear Survive, Konami has done very little in the AAA video games space. The Japanese publisher has allowed some of its biggest, most beloved properties to languish though that could hopefully change in the near future. We’ve seen numerous reports that Silent Hill is making a comeback which could spur the return of Metal Gear, Castlevania, and more.
