The developers of Metal Gear Solid Delta are yet to decide what their next project will be, be it another remake or something entirely new. A remake of Metal Gear Solid 4, though, would be “pretty hard”.
Following Delta, released back in August, series fans are keen to hear what’s next for the developers. After all, it was developed as a way of re-introducing the series to new fans, as well as bringing the game up to modern standards.
“Right now, I’m thinking about what to make next. With Metal Gear, I’ve been able to create an opportunity for new people to experience my work, so I want to continue doing this,” said series producer Noriaki Okamura in a new interview with Real Sound (machine translated).
“However, we haven’t yet decided what we’ll be creating,” he continued. “There may be remakes, but we may also try new works.
“The Metal Gear series is like the history of video games, and it ranges from pixel art to cinematic expressions, so the remake method and expression method for each work is different. We don’t intend to apply the methodology we created for MGS Delta to all of our works, but rather we will consider the best method for each work.”
Prior to Delta, many of the original developers left Konami, but Okamura is pleased to have gathered a team to produce the remake. “As a team, we are confident that we have achieved a quality that will be enjoyable for modern players without compromising the appeal of previous titles,” he said. “We are currently exploring specific plans for our next steps.”
It would seem Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots would be a struggle to remake, however.
“The hardware at the time required some pretty special construction to deliver 3D performance with the technology available at the time, and MGS4 also had some pretty special code… It would be pretty hard to bring it up now,” said Okamura.
While Metal Gear Solid 4 does numerically come after 3, chronologically it wouldn’t really make sense as the next remake for Konami to tackle. More pertinent is the existence of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, which is where we’re likely to see MGS4 make an appearance.
While the first Master Collection included Metal Gear Solid 1 – 3 along with some other classics, dataminers did find reference to 4, 5, and Peace Walker in its code shortly after its release in 2023.
Then, last year Konami told fans to “stay tuned” for news on MGS4 in Master Collection 2, teasing its likely inclusion. As the game was exclusive to the PS3 and hasn’t been released again since, fans are certainly keen to experience it again in some form.