Konami is preparing to reinstate the Metal Gear games it temporarily removed from sale as the series celebrates its 35th anniversary.
As reported by VGC, Konami's Japanese Twitter account posted to commemorate the anniversary and announced that fans, seemingly soon, will once again be able to play the temporarily suspended entries.
"The Metal Gear series, released on July 13, 1987, celebrated its 35th anniversary today," it said. "We are preparing to resume sales of titles that have been temporarily suspended."
This could refer to the versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 that were removed from digital storefronts last November following license renewal issues.
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
Konami said at the time: "We are currently working on renewing the licenses for select historical archive footage used in-game, therefore, we have made the temporary decision to begin suspending the sale of Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and all products that include these games from digital storefronts globally starting from November 8, 2021."
The full list of games removed is as follows:
- Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty HD Edition on PS3 and PS Vita
- Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater HD Edition on PS3 and PS Vita
- Metal Gear Solid HD Edition on PS3
- Metal Gear Solid HD Collection on PS Vita and PS Now
- Metal Gear Solid HD Edition: 2 & 3 on Xbox 360
- Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D on Nintendo 3DS
- Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance on GOG.com
- Metal Gear Solid 2 HD for SHIELD TV on Nvidia Shield
- Metal Gear Solid 3 HD for SHIELD TV on Nvidia Shield
The original Metal Gear was released for the MSX and was the now-famed Hideo Kojima's first game. It featured series staple Solid Snake as he attempted to destroy the original Metal Gear, a nuclear-missile launching mech.
It received a sequel in 1990 called Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, but the franchise would soon go quiet until Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998 for the original PlayStation, shaping what would become one of the most iconic franchise's in video games that ended with 2015's Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (not including the poorly received spin-off, Metal Gear Survive).
For those who are managing their backlog or want to create a game plan of what Metal Gear games to go back to and play next, we have assembled a complete Playlist of all the Metal Gear games that can be sorted, ranked, and customized with your play status.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.