Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was released on PSP 14 years ago, and for much of that time we've wondered why a proper numbered entry wasn't included in the series. Now, director Hideo Kojima has revealed that it is due to “foreign marketing.”
“After creating MGS4, I strongly felt the need for a proprietary engine,” Kojima says in a new tweet. “The jump forward for games in the vertical direction would only occur after the engine was complete.” That led to the creation of the Fox Engine that powered Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Meanwhile, Kojima wanted to evolve the series “horizontally”, to other platforms.
“I proposed Peace Walker as a way to evolve MGS horizontally,” Kojima continues. “Initially, it was titled MGS5: Peace Walker, but faced strong opposition from foreign marketing, so we removed the numbered title. As it was for PSP, we narrowed the target age range to middle and high school students, with the goal of discovering younger fans and build a multi-generational following, with parents and children enjoying the game together.”
It's been 14 years since the release of “Peace Walker.” I was still about 40 years old at the time. Many gaming companies had started developing apps for feature phones. After creating MGS4, I strongly felt the need for a proprietary engine. The leap forward for games… pic.twitter.com/mkr4AqaHqhOctober 4, 2024
We know that Peace Walker was called Metal Gear Solid 5 at some point in development from before the game's release, but the exact reasons why the number ended up being lowered have never been entirely clear. Kojima himself referred to Peace Walker as “an MGS5-class game,” but fans have long suspected that Konami simply didn't want to market a handheld title as a full, main entry in the Metal Gear Solid series.
Of course, the events of Peace Walker ended up setting the stage for the events of Metal Gear Solid V in a major way, introducing characters and themes that would be central to the game. But, uh… there's always been a hint that The Phantom Pain wasn't actually MGS5 either. “Not MGS5, but MGSV,” Kojima said before the release of The Phantom Pain. “My thoughts on it. V has come to.” Kojima has always had a penchant for hanging big ideas on strange puns, and the notion that we've actually never Getting Metal Gear Solid 5 could be the biggest trick of all.
Metal Gear Solid actor David Hayter teases his return as Big Boss, sending the fandom into a frenzy: “Metal Gear Solid 6 100% confirmed.”