TheMetal Gear Solidseries is in a strange place right now.Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a remake of the 2004Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, is about to release at the end of August 2025, and Konami as a whole has been busy reintegrating itself into the gaming industry.Metal Gear Solid,Castlevania, andSilent Hillhave all benefited from various remasters, crossovers, and revivals, withSilent Hillmounting the largest comeback so far. GettingDeltaout will be a significant step inMetal Gear Solidstaging its own return.
Despite that progress, the future of theMetal Gearfranchise is still unclear. The only truly new installment to launch since series creator Hideo Kojima left Konami is2018’s controversialMetal Gear Survive, and it took five years after that forMetal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1to arrive afterward. It also suffered a rough beginning, though after several patches fans and newcomers can now enjoy most ofMetal Gear’s history on modern hardware. The collection’s title also points to the likely next move for the franchise, but the lack of communication about it is starting to be concerning.
Metal Gear Solid’s Master Collections Have Gone Quiet
As recently as September 2024,Master Collectionproducer Noriaki Okamura confirmed that aMaster Collection Vol. 2was in production, but Summer Game Fest 2025 has come and gone without another word on it. This collection is thesingle destination theMetal Gearfranchise hasuntil another major project is announced, so until further notice, it’s a big deal. In fact, Okamura hinted that it might surpass priorMetal Gearcollections in a way that could make the series feel complete for the first time in years.
The Next Master Collection Could Finally Bring MGS4 Back To Life
Specifically,Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2could finally mark the return ofMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Aside fromMetal Gear Rising: Revengeance,MGS4is thefurthest chronological game in theMetal Gearseries, and the conclusion to the Solid Snake storyline that had been running up until its release. It also hasn’t been included in any otherMetal Gearcollections, and remains a 2008 PlayStation 3 exclusive. Successfully remasteringMGS4means it could be included in future collections as well, so aMaster CollectioncontainingMGS4is practically the release of a newMetal Gear.
Metal Gear Solid’s Past And Future May Hinge On Master Collection Vol. 2
Fears Over Metal Gear Solid 4’s Port Can’t Also Get Stuck In Limbo
There’s more to lose here than several run-of-the-mill remasters, which is why the radio silence surrounding theMGS Master Collection Vol. 2has become worrying. Okamura also stated that the second collection would see more pre-release polish to avoid the issues of the first, which, combined with the apparent difficulty of remastering an HD PS3 game for the first time, explains its absence, but doesn’t make it feel any better. Fans don’t want to see one of themost pivotalMGSgames locked awayfor any more decades, and this series needs the strongest base possible going forward.
Not helping matters, it’s difficult to determine when the nextMaster Collectionwill be announced and released. Almost two years have passed since the firstMGS Master Collection, but factoring in thesecondMaster Collection’s extra polish timeand potential increased technical issues could mean the new one still isn’t ready to be shown. Alternatively, Konami may be holding back the secondMaster Collectionto ensureMetal Gear Solid Deltagets undivided attention. Whether or not the game is reliant onDelta’s release,Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2can’t afford to let a piece ofMetal Gear Solid’s history slide out of reach once again.
