Metal Gear Solidis often ranked among the all time greats in gaming, with entries likeSnake EaterandThe Phantom Painraking in top honors upon release. While sitting at the top of the video game pantheon at one point in terms of quality, matters have taken a grim turn for the series ever sinceKonami cut ties with Hideo Kojima, the creator of the iconic stealth franchise.
Especially after the negative reviews forMetal Gear Surviveand controversial Konami pachinko machines forMetal Gear Solid, many fans feel the beloved series should be handed off to another developer to be treated with better care going forward. Luckily, several other studios in the gaming industry are experienced in delivering high quality games with similar gameplay, tone and production value toMetal Gear Solid.
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Bluepoint Games
After gracing gamers with two excellent remakes back to back, withShadow of the Colossusand thePlayStation 5’s must have launch titleDemon’s Souls, many are wondering what Bluepoint has in store for the future. Considering the studio’s reputation for reimagining beloved classics, rumors have begun making the rounds that Bluepoint is sneaking its way into Sony’s PS1 library. Bluepoint may bring back the originalMetal Gear Solidinto the modern day with a shiny new coat of paint.
If a recent fanremake ofMetal Gear Solidin Unreal Engineis anything to go by, bringing this iconic classic up to modern standards is sure to impress gamers the same way it did back in 1998. If this hypothetical remake turns out to be true and based on Bluepoint’s past efforts, the studio would do well with permanently handling the responsibility for future games set in theMetal Gear Solidfranchise going forward, whether it be a remake, new installment or otherwise.
Kojima Productions
An obvious adopter of theMetal Gear SolidIP would be for it to reunite with its original creator, Hideo Kojima, at Kojima Productions. Nobody understands the series better than the father of the whole franchise after all. ConsideringDeath Strandingwas similar toMetal Gear Solidin a number of ways, both gameplay-wise and tonally, Mr. Kojima clearly hasn’t lost touch with what made his stealth mega-hit so popular to begin with.
Hideo Kojima was often held back from his many ambitious ideas in the past, withKonami even cutting content fromMGS5before its launch. If Hideo Kojima were to be handed back full control over his flagship franchise, especially with gaming technology going forward, the future of the series would surely look bright.
IO Interactive
Although a far more methodical, trial-and-error approach to stealth based gameplay, theHitmanseries still has close enough similarities to the adventures of Solid Snake to ensure that developer IO Interactive would feel right at home taking on aMetal Gear Solidgame. The right developer needs to understand how to create interesting locations to sneak through, which IO Interactive clearly understands withHitman. So much care and attention is put into these games that it is easy tomiss the smallest details in aHitmantitle.
One such commonality aside from the obvious stealth gameplay is that both franchises maintain a subtle, often dark sense of humor in both character interactions and specific story moments. WithIO Interactive working on a James Bond game, the studio is building up a strong credibility and trust to be handed outside franchises, which should ease any concern of them possibly handlingMetal Gear Solid.
Ubisoft
Home to not one, but two of the most popular stealth action franchises in gaming with bothAssassin’s CreedandSplinter Cellunder its belt, Ubisoft would be another solid choice forMetal Gear Solid. RecentAssassin’s Creedgames have delivered huge open worldswith varied objectives all while maintaining the same stealth roots of its predecessors, making them mechanically similar to the approach taken withMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
Should the decision be made to continue theMetal Gear Solidseries as an open worldexperience, Ubisoft would be a more than competent and experienced developer to undertake such a huge challenge.Splinter Cellhas been referenced inMetal Gear Solidgames multiples times, showing a respect for the Ubisoft series, so maybe the Canadian based developer can return the favor and bring the series back to its former glory.
