Prologue Ground Zeroes standalone release in early 2014

Dec 3, 2013 12:40 GMT  ·  By

Publisher Konami has recently confirmed that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and its prologue title, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, will be released as two separate entities.

Series creator Hideo Kojima offered additional details during a recent interview with prestigious Japanese video game magazine Famitsu, as Siliconera reports.

“As far as the game itself goes, The Phantom Pain will take place in an immense open world map, while Ground Zeroes takes place in a smaller open world,” stated the famous game designer.

The difference in scale between the two titles is another reason that influenced the split.

Another factor leading to this decision was the massive feedback from fans. Prior to the announcement of Metal Gear Solid V, developer Kojima Productions showcased a Fox Engine implementation video that got the community excited.

“Since we revealed information on a regular basis, there were many who believed that Metal Gear Solid V was already complete, and there were many voices from fans saying ‘we want to play it soon’.”, said Hideo Kojima, the head of Kojima Production.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is likely to appear around a time when the PlayStation 4 has a better market penetration than now, meaning the fans will have to wait for a considerable amount of time.

Fortunately, the lengthy development cycle, coupled with the aforementioned reasons, led the developer to the decision to let people enjoy the prologue earlier, and so they are planning to release a standalone title.

The events depicted in the prologue take place nine years earlier than the bulk of Metal Gear Solid V, and will serve as an introduction meant to captivate the audience.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is scheduled to launch in spring 2014 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 platforms.