Rumors of a Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake have been swirling for years. Now we know all the fan speculation wasn’t for naught. Konami revealed at Sony’s PlayStation Showcase that the PS2 classic is getting modernized for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC so players can enjoy it all over again.
The remake is called Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and there’s no release date yet and the only real look we got at it was Naked Snake creeping through a very dark jungle. The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection, meanwhile, is set to arrive this fall and will include Metal Gear: Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and the original Snake Eater.
The fifth game in the Metal Gear series, Snake Eater takes place earliest in the timeline and follows Big Boss during the Cold War in the 1960s when he was known as Naked Snake. It arrived on PS2 back in 2004 and was eventually expanded in a version called Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and ported to HD by way of the PS3 and Xbox 360. Depending on who you ask, it’s one of the best games, if not the best game, in the series.
Who’s developing the Snake Eater remake?
Following the game’s announcement, Konami released a statement on behalf of an anonymous development team behind the Metal Gear Solid Delta, though it wasn’t immediately clear who it consisted of since the company restructured its game divisions back in 2021. “We are working hard for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater to be a faithful recreation of the original story and game design, while evolving the gameplay with stunning visuals and a seamless user experience,” the statement read.
“In addition to Konami’s development team who is involved in the development of the Metal Gear series, the game is fully supported by Virtuos, which is a development company that has been cooperating with the past Metal Gear series,” a spokesperson for the publisher confirmed to Kotaku.
Hideo Kojima isn’t involved
Konami told IGN that current developers at the company who were “involved in the production of the past [games in the] Metal Gear series” will take a “central role” in development. Former Snake Eater developers no longer with the publisher, like director Hideo Kojima and artist Yoji Shinkawa, will not be consulted on the remake though.
“They are not involved,” a Konami spokesperson told IGN. “However, the development team will work hard to create this remake and also the ports (for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection) so that they can be enjoyed on multiple platforms by even more players all around the world.”
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News of a potential remake was first reported back in 2021 by VGC which claimed mega porting house Virtuos would be behind it. The game was to be one of the key milestones in publisher Konami’s shift back toward console gaming. Remakes and remasters of other classics in the company’s portfolio were also rumored, including Silent Hill and Castlevania.
The remake’s announcement is less surprising now after Konami revealed last year that Silent Hill 2 would get the same treatment. Given to Bloober Team, that project has remained controversial due to a passionate following around the original version and some negative reactions to the overhauled graphics and changes in art direction for the new PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC versions.
Snake Eater will no doubt be in a similarly fraught position, especially because of Kojima’s acrimonious split with Konami many years ago. He later formed a new studio where many other former Konami developers joined him, and the remake will be Konami’s first test of re-creating a classic without its main creator. Though recent examples like the Resident Evil 4 remake show it’s not impossible to faithfully bring a 2004 masterpiece into the present day.
Update 5/24/2023 6:23 p.m. ET: Added additional platforms the Snake Eater remake is coming to.
Update 5/24/2023 7:40 p.m. ET: Added a statement from the new development team.
Update 5/25/2023 10:55 a.m. ET: Added statement from Konami about development team.
Update 5/30/2023 2:52 p.m. ET: Added in information from Konami about Kojima’s involvement.