Metal Gear

Metal Gear is one of the most influential and acclaimed franchises in video game history, the series that essentially invented stealth gaming as we know it. Created by visionary designer Hideo Kojima and published by Konami, it follows legendary soldiers Solid Snake and Big Boss through decades of espionage, betrayal, and warnings about nuclear proliferation and the control of information. Famous for its cinematic storytelling, its memorable boss fights, and its willingness to break the fourth wall, Metal Gear blended tense tactical gameplay with the ambition of a blockbuster film. After years of uncertainty, the franchise has roared back to life with a stunning remake and a renewed commitment from Konami.

The Metal Gear Games in Order

The series began with Metal Gear in 1987 and its sequel Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake in 1990, both originally released on the MSX2 computer. The franchise exploded into the mainstream with Metal Gear Solid in 1998, followed by Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in 2001, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in 2004, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots in 2008. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker arrived in 2010, and the saga’s final mainline chapter came with Metal Gear Solid V, split between Ground Zeroes in 2014 and The Phantom Pain in 2015. The series also produced spin-offs including Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Metal Gear Survive. Because several games are prequels, the in-universe chronology differs from release order, beginning with Snake Eater in 1964.

The Metal Gear Solid Formula

Metal Gear pioneered what Kojima called tactical espionage action. Rather than blasting through enemies, players were rewarded for patience, observation, and avoidance, sneaking past guards, hiding bodies, and using gadgets and the environment to slip through hostile territory undetected. The games are equally famous for their lengthy, movie-like cutscenes and their lengthy radio Codec conversations, which delivered a dense, philosophical story about war, genetics, and the manipulation of truth. Metal Gear also delighted in breaking the fourth wall, most famously when the psychic boss Psycho Mantis read the player’s memory card and moved their controller. Combined with unforgettable boss battles, this mix of stealth, spectacle, and surprise made the series feel like nothing else.

Solid Snake, Big Boss, and the Story

At the center of the saga are two of gaming’s most iconic characters. Big Boss, originally codenamed Naked Snake, is the legendary soldier whose journey from hero to the founder of a rogue military state forms the backbone of the prequels. Solid Snake, his genetically engineered clone, is the stoic operative who repeatedly infiltrates enemy strongholds to destroy the nuclear-armed walking tanks known as Metal Gears. The convoluted but deeply rewarding plot weaves in the shadowy organization called the Patriots, clone brothers like Liquid and Solidus Snake, and recurring allies and rivals across generations. It is a sprawling, often surreal story about the cycle of war and the soldiers trapped within it.

The Hideo Kojima Era and Metal Gear Solid V

For nearly thirty years, Metal Gear was inseparable from Hideo Kojima, one of the first game designers to be treated as a genuine auteur. His fingerprints are on every aspect of the mainline series, from its writing and direction to its bold experiments with player expectations. That era ended after Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, an enormous open-world entry widely praised for its gameplay even as fans debated its famously unfinished story. Following a public falling-out, Kojima left Konami in 2015 to form his own independent studio, Kojima Productions, where he went on to create Death Stranding. His departure marked the end of a defining chapter for the franchise.

Metal Gear Spinoffs and Metal Gear Survive

Outside the mainline games, Metal Gear branched into other genres and developers. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, developed by PlatinumGames in 2013, swapped stealth for fast, flashy hack-and-slash combat starring the cyborg ninja Raiden, earning a passionate cult following. After Kojima’s exit, Konami released Metal Gear Survive in 2018, a co-op survival spin-off set in an alternate dimension that was met with a cold reception from longtime fans who felt the series had lost its identity. For a while, Survive seemed like it might be the franchise’s quiet, unceremonious ending, leaving its future in serious doubt.

Metal Gear Solid Delta and the Revival

Konami has spent recent years reversing that decline. The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 in 2023 bundled the early games for modern platforms, and its success paved the way for a full revival. The centerpiece is Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a ground-up remake of the beloved Snake Eater built in Unreal Engine 5, which launched in August 2025 to positive reviews and sold over a million copies in its first day. Konami followed up by confirming Master Collection Vol. 2, set for 2026, which will finally bring Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to modern systems for the first time. Producers have even expressed interest in tackling a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid, and a long-in-development film adaptation continues to inch forward, signaling that one of gaming’s greatest franchises is far from finished.

Metal Gear endures because it was always more than a stealth game. It was a bold, strange, deeply personal work of art that asked players to think while it entertained them, and its influence echoes through countless games that followed. With Snake back in the spotlight and Konami treating the series as a priority once more, a whole new generation is discovering why Metal Gear has been revered for nearly forty years.