Ground Zeroes Was an Experiement, Says Kojima

On Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes ninth anniversary, developer Hideo Kojima reflected upon the game’s development and revealed that it was meant to “experiment” an episodic format for the series.

Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes was originally planned as a prologue to MGS 5

Kojima said that Ground Zeroes was originally conceived as a prologue to MGS 5, introducing players to Snake’s vengeance. The overall theme would be that of retribution. The game’s release came shortly after the PS4’s launch, so Kojima “pre-released” Ground Zeroes to introduce the new MGS and get feedback on the game, its open world, and the Fox Engine.

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“The development of a full game takes 4-5 years,” Kojima wrote. “Times change during production, so I thought of offering an episodic format, like a streamed drama, where one episode is produced and distributed. GZ was meant to be an experiment.”

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9 years since its release! GZ was originally planned as a prologue to MGSV. GZ was originally planned as a prologue to MGSV, an important introduction to root Snake’s (the player’s) vengeance in the main story, and the theme of MGSV is retribution. pic.twitter.com/3M1znrbbtG

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 20, 2023

Reflecting upon Ground Zeroes eventual launch, Kojima acknowledged that players didn’t quite get his intention behind the release, and there was some disappointment because it was not considered a full game and was thought to have been released too early.

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