Metal Gear celebrates 25th anniversary with 31 million sold

By Anthony John Agnello Published April 24, 2023

Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s just no keeping a highly trained, gravel-voiced, genetically engineered super spy down. Twenty-five years after the first game hit the MSX2 computer, and more famously the NES, the Metal Gear series has sold a total of 31 million copies worldwide.

Metal Gear publisher Konami announced the milestone on its homepage on Friday, just one day before series creator Hideo Kojima spoke at the opening of the Art of Video Games Exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. With 31 million copies sold, Metal Gear is now in league with other best-selling franchises like Street Fighter and the Medal of Honor series

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While it’s been some time since a new Metal Gear game has been released—the last was 2010’s Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for PSP—the series has seen a flurry of re-releases in recent months. Konami released high-definition re-masters of Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Peace Walker for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as part of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection in November. Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D was released for the Nintendo 3DS earlier this month. A Playstation Vita edition of the HD Collection will be released in June.

The series will go in a wildly different direction later this year though. The ambitiously-titled Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, developed by Bayonetta-creators Platinum Games rather than Kojima Productions, is expected out before the end of the year. Rising focuses on fast-paced sword fights and absurd acrobatics rather than the patient stealth of the Solid series. Based on trailers for the game though, it will keep the trademark ridiculous melodrama that has kept the series popular for a quarter of a century.

Anthony John Agnello

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…

Gaming

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection continues the series’ endless relevance

Solid Snake and Raiden hold weapons in Metal Gear Solid 2.

It’s never been a better time to replay the Metal Gear Solid series -- and that fills me with dread.

Usually, I’m overjoyed anytime I have an excuse to recommend an old game I love. While I’ve spent my life gaming alone in various living rooms, I believe those experiences are meant to be shared. There’s joy in getting to introduce something special to someone who’s never played before and then getting to see their reactions. But when it comes to Metal Gear Solid, that recommendation usually comes with a somber undertone.

Gaming

We played 4 upcoming Konami games, including Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection

Solid Snake and Raiden hold weapons in Metal Gear Solid 2.

Once upon a time, Konami was one of the most dominant third-party video game publishers out there. The company had a long era of dominance, with franchises like Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid making it a household name. That would change a bit in the mid-2010s, as the publisher went through a major restructure that saw the company parting ways with one of its highest-profile studios, Kojima Productions. Despite that, Konami has remained plenty busy -- especially as of late.

Last week, Digital Trends got to see that first-hand when we attended a Konami press event highlighting four of its upcoming games. That list included high-profile games like Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 and Super Bomberman R 2, as well as smaller publishing projects like Super Crazy Rhythm Castle and CYGNI: All Guns Blazing. We went hands-on with each game in the varied line-up, giving us a better sense of how Konami's video game efforts are evolving.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1

Gaming

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection contains first 2 Metal Gear games, Konami confirms

metal gear solid master collection extra games

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 will contain two more games than expected, according to its PlayStation Store listing and a statement that the game's publisher, Konami, provided to Digital Trends. Those titles are the original Metal Gear and its follow-up, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

You might have missed the announcement of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 during the PlayStation Showcase. An image that appeared briefly following the Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater's announcement confirmed the collection and revealed it would feature Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
The PlayStation Store listing goes into a lot more detail about what versions of what games are actually included in this collection. It confirms that Master Collection Vol. 1 will include the HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, in addition to a version of Metal Gear Solid that also features the VR and Special Missions, but it also states that the package includes the first two games in the Metal Gear series.
Digital Trends contacted Konami to affirm that this PlayStation Store listing was accurate, and a PR representative confirmed that "for the Collection, the PS Store listing is correct."
While Metal Gear Solid is when Hideo Kojima's stealth espionage series went mainstream, it actually began when Konami released Metal Gear on the MSX2 in Japan and Europe in 1987. This game, along with its 1990 Japan-only follow-up, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, are top-down stealth games where players infiltrate enemy bases as Solid Snake. These games laid the groundwork for the Metal Gear Solid series' lore, and they are still canon within the wider series. As such, it's great to see these games present in the collection, as they've only really ever been available as bonuses in rereleases of Metal Gear Solid 3.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 launches this autumn.