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Metal Gear Solid back with remake years after Kojima left Konami
Tom GerkenTechnology reporter
KonamiMetal 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?
Why did Kojima leave Konami?
“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.
Getty ImagesA 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.
Why a remake now?
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?
KonamiFans 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.
Metal Gear without Kojima
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”.
KonamiSo 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.
Scottish Greens will “call out the lies of big polluters”, co-leader Gillian Mackay said as she branded plans to develop the Rosebank oil field as “pure climate vandalism”.
Ms Mackay spoke out as demonstrators opposed to drilling the site gathered in London on Saturday.
Plans to develop the North Sea field – which is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil – have been submitted again by owners Equinor.
However, Ms Mackay told the Scottish Green Party conference in Edinburgh: “We have to be the party that calls out the lies of big polluters.”
Ms Mackay, who was elected co-leader with fellow MSP Ross Greer in August, told her fellow Scottish Greens: “Drilling for new oil and gas in fields like Rosebank will do nothing to lower energy bills or protect our planet.
“It is pure climate vandalism and we have to stop Rosebank.”
Development of the oil field, which lies 80 miles west of Shetland, had been approved by the Conservative government in 2023 but that decision was challenged in the courts in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling which said the emissions created from burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting permission for new drilling sites.
Her comments came as Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, insisted the UK is “one of the most nature depleted countries in the world”.
Addressing protesters in London, Mr Polanski said: “The very least this Government need to do is to stop making things worse.”
Ms Mackay also used her conference speech to hit out at the UK Government over the closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery in Grangemouth.
Hundreds of jobs were lost after owners Petroineos closed the refinery earlier this year, with Ms Mackay, who grew up in the area saying: “I’m sick of governments and corporations using tags like ‘just transition’ as a cheap slogan.
“What happened in Grangemouth is not a just transition.
“Our communities don’t need empty words, words don’t pay the bills, or put food on the table.
“They need real plans to provide real jobs and real opportunities.”
Ms Mackay insisted: “That site could have been saved. Labour promised to save it – they promised £200 million – and the message from the workers is clear: show us the money.”
She said that the Grangemouth plant “could have been nationalised”, adding: “We cannot leave the future of our communities in the hands of billionaires who are all too happy to abandon us when the money dries up.”
With the Scottish Greens having set the target of overtaking Labour in May’s Holyrood ballot, Ms Mackay said her party was “on the verge of a historic election” with the “chance to elect more green voices than ever before”.
She also told how the birth of her first child, Callan, in June meant she had “never felt more committed to building a greener Scotland”.
She joked that she was speaking at Saturday’s conference “in relatively one piece, without too much baby dribble on me” as she said the Green model, with two co-leaders at the helm, had allowed her to take on the challenge.
“In other parties there would have been a whole load of barriers to a new mum being elected to a leadership role,” Ms Mackay said.
“It is only because of our co-leadership model and the support of ordinary members, I have been afforded this opportunity.”
She continued: “The support I have had says something about our party and the values we stand for.
“When I think about the country I want us to be, it is one where we support each other, one where we lift each other up and one where we do things differently.”
New Delhi: Zoho’s Chief Scientist and Co-founder Sridhar Vembu on Saturday agreed with former IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath, regarding the huge economic bubble in the US stock market.
Vembu said that a systemic event like the global financial crisis of 2008-9 cannot be ruled out.
Zoho’s founder responded on social media platform X to Gopinath’s warning saying, “I agree with Dr Gita Gopinath. The US stock market is in a clear and massive bubble. The degree of leverage in the system means that we cannot rule out a systemic event like the global financial crisis of 2008.”
Vembu also warned that the gold price trend is indicative of a systemic financial risk.
“Gold is also flashing a big warning signal. I don’t think of gold as an investment, I think of it as insurance against systemic financial risk. Ultimately finance is all about trust and when debt levels reach this high, trust breaks down. I am sure AI will work hard to repay all the debt in the system,” his X post read.
His post tagged Gopinath’s warning which said that global exposure “to US equities is at record levels.”
“A stock market correction would have more severe and global consequences as compared to what followed the dot-com crash. The tariff wars and lack of fiscal space compounds the problem,” Gopinath said.
She urged for higher growth and returns across more countries and regions instead of a focus on the US, adding that the underlying problem is not “unbalanced trade” but “unbalanced growth”.
Earlier in the month, Gopinath said that US President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals acted as a tax on US consumers, raised inflation, and had no benefit to the American economy.
Last Updated:
SIP (Systematic Investment Plan), TIP (Term Insurance Plan), and HIP (Health Insurance Plan) together create a balanced mix of growth, protection, and security.
Experts suggest maintaining an emergency fund covering 3-6 months of expenses.
In today’s fast-paced and stressful world, achieving financial stability early in life is crucial. Experts say that by the age of 30, everyone should aim to have a strong foundation in three key areas – SIP (Systematic Investment Plan), TIP (Term Insurance Plan), and HIP (Health Insurance Plan). Together, these create a balanced mix of growth, protection, and security.
Rakesh Bhandari, director at Nirmal Bang, said, “This should be done carefully and very smartly so that your retirement life is spent in the right way.”
In Your 30s? Build Your ‘SIP-TIP-HIP’ Foundation
Your 30s are the decade when most major financial goals, such as buying a home, planning for children’s education, and preparing for retirement, begin to take shape. Setting up this three-pillar framework early helps you grow wealth, safeguard income, and protect against rising health costs without unnecessary complexity.
1. SIP: Systematic Investment Plan for Long-Term Growth
A SIP helps you invest regularly in equity mutual funds, enabling rupee-cost averaging and the power of compounding over time.
Why it matters: Long-term investments in Indian large-cap equities (like the Nifty 50 TRI) have historically delivered double-digit annualised returns. Multiple rolling-return studies (1992-2024) show that the longer you stay invested, the lower your chances of negative returns. While past performance is not a guarantee, time in the market, not timing the market, has consistently worked in investors’ favour.
Smart move: “Start small but stay consistent. Increase your SIP amount by 5-10% every year in line with salary hikes. This ‘step-up SIP’ strategy can significantly boost your corpus compared to a flat SIP,” said Bhandari.
Action cue: Pick an amount you can sustain even during market downturns and automate the investment for discipline.
2. TIP: Term Insurance Plan for Income Protection
A Term Insurance Plan (TIP) ensures your family’s financial stability if something unexpected happens to you.
Why start in your 30s: Premiums are lowest when you’re young and healthy. You can also lock in a long coverage period that spans your peak earning years.
How much cover: A general rule is to have coverage worth 10-15 times your annual income, adjusted for loans and future goals. Online insurance calculators can help fine-tune the number.
What it does: Provides a safety net so your family’s lifestyle, education, and long-term financial goals stay intact even in your absence.
Action cue: “Opt for a pure term plan, avoid investment-linked policies. Choose adequate coverage and a tenure that extends beyond your working life and your children’s education years,” Bhandari added.
3. HIP: Health Insurance Plan for Rising Medical Costs
Health insurance is your shield against medical inflation, which continues to rise sharply in India.
The reality: Government data shows health inflation averaging around 4-5% annually, while industry studies suggest actual medical cost inflation is often in the low to mid-teens. With nearly 46-47% of health expenses still paid out-of-pocket, a single hospitalisation can derail your savings.
What to buy: A family floater plan with adequate sum insured, restoration benefits, day-care coverage, and a no-claim bonus. As your income grows, enhance protection with a super top-up plan.
Action cue: “Buy early. You’ll pay lower premiums, complete waiting periods sooner, and stay protected as lifestyle-related health risks rise,” Bhandari said.
How the Trio Works Together
- SIP builds wealth for long-term goals.
- TIP safeguards those goals if your income stops unexpectedly.
- HIP prevents medical emergencies from eating into your investments.
Together, they create a balanced and resilient personal finance system.
Simple Hygiene Rules
Maintain an emergency fund covering 3-6 months of expenses.
Review your cover amounts annually, especially after salary hikes, new loans, or life changes.
Automate SIPs and insurance premiums so your protection never lapses.
Disclaimer:Disclaimer: The views and investment tips shared in this article are for general information purposes only. Readers are advised to consult a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More
October 18, 2025, 16:14 IST
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