Skip to main content

Hideo Kojima reveals Metal Gear Solid 5 ideas

The Boss, the Cobra Unit and the invasion of Normandy.

Dark blue icons of video game controllers on a light blue background
Image credit: Eurogamer

Hideo Kojima has revealed some of his ideas for the yet to be made Metal Gear Solid 5 - one of which was to set the game in the invasion of Normandy.

In a Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance documentary video released overnight, the Japanese game designer discusses how he pitched the idea to his Kojima Productions staff as he was working on another unannounced game - presumably Project Ogre.

There may be spoilers ahead.

"Metal Gear Solid 4 wrapped up in 2008, and the dev team took post-project time off right after that," he revealed. "But, of course, we were in a situation where we had to start planning for MGS5. So I started coming up with several ideas.

"I had several ideas for a game featuring The Boss and the Cobra Unit during the invasion of Normandy. I then handed these plans over to the team so they could take over and make the game.

"I presented my ideas to the team during the summer of 2008. However, simply dropping MGS5 on the younger staff members was a bit heavy and there was resistance to doing it without my involvement."

According to Metal Gear Solid lore, The Boss was the mentor of Naked Snake and the founding leader of the Cobra Unit, which was disbanded at the end of World War 2.

It was after Kojima made his MGS5 pitch that the idea of creating a spin-off - Metal Gear Solid: Rising, now Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - emerged.

"At the time, I was working on a new project. It was during the planning phase of that project and I wanted the staff to take charge of the new title," Kojima continued.

"There was resistance to that idea, though. It was then that someone proposed the idea for what would become Rising. It was a game based on Raiden's story, since MGS5 had too much weight to it. It would be a side story that the team felt more comfortable working with."

Yesterday Kojima took to Twitter to confirm that a stealth-based Metal Gear Solid sequel - presumably Metal Gear Solid 5 - will one day release.

His comments came after the reveal of the rebooted Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, now developed by Bayonetta studio Platinum - not Kojima Productions - and reimagined with a heavy action gameplay focus.

"For those of you desire for authentic stealth MGS, I want you to patiently wait for the sequel coming in future," he said.

Last month Kojima admitted he'll probably have to make Metal Gear Solid 5 eventually - but it sounds like a long way off.

"I think we'll probably have to make it [a sequel to MGS4] at some point, but what that will be, we have no idea," was his exact quote.

Read this next