Metal Gear Solid fans can rest easy, the Snake Eater remake is in capable hands

Not quite a thrill.

Image via Konami | Remixed by Cale Michael

When early reports of a remake for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater being in the works started bubbling up years ago, fans of the franchise were skeptical since Konami hadn’t done much positive work with the IP since Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain in 2015. However, now that we actually have details about the new Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, those concerns can be put to rest—for the most part.

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After the reveal during Sony’s May PlayStation Showcase, MGS fans got the hype out of their systems and took time to actually look at what info Konami put out into the wild.

The trailer was fully CG and showed no gameplay, there was barely any information about what the Snake Eater remake really was, and most importantly, there was no sign of a studio attached to the trailer. That last fact left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths as Konami has not been known for internal game development in recent years and hiding who is working on the game can be taken as a bad sign.

Concerned fans flooded social media with questions about the remake’s development, with even Summer Game Fest head Geoff Keighley asking who was working on the title. 

And, after several hours of silence, Konami went on a spree of providing more information about  Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, including confirmation that an old report about the game has held up.

Back in Oct. 2021, VGC reported Konami was working internally to revive several key franchises such as Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Castlevania. And, in that same report, global dev Virtuos was listed as the team tasked with remastering the beloved third MGS entry.

Related: Everything shown at the PlayStation Showcase 2023 this week

According to an official statement from a Konami spokesperson, the Snake Eater remake is being worked on by a Konami development team that is “fully supported by Virtuos.” And, while Konami being directly involved might scare some fans, Virtuos has a strong track record of porting and remastering games.

For reference, the massive support studio has worked on titles such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, both during the main dev cycle and in porting the former title to PC.

The history of solid ports and remasters also includes Bioshock: The Collection, various Final Fantasy titles, Dark Souls Remastered, and more recently the “miracle port” of NieR:Automata for the Nintendo Switch.

This doesn’t wave away other questions surrounding the remake, such as what Konami is going to change from the original with its approach of making a difference without changing structure—which is why the game has Delta in its title.

At least we know the game will look great, likely run really well, and reportedly feature the “original voice characters, rich storyline, and expansive features of combat survival.” Beyond that, we will have to wait for more details and a release date.

And hey, if you don’t want to support a Metal Gear game like this after what Konami did to series mastermind Hideo Kojima, a new Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection is dropping its first volume later this year. This will let players purchase the original three MGS titles in their close-to-original forms on modern platforms, so it is a win-win.

Author
Image of Cale Michael
Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.