Based on what we've seen, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid 5 is prepping up to be one of the biggest releases of the near future. However, this future might not be that near. Speaking recently with Famitsu, Kojima confirmed that the game has “enormous volume” and that it can take quite a while before fans start pre-ordering for the same.
“Prior to the announcement of Metal Gear Solid V, last year, we showed a Fox Engine implementation video. Then, we also showed the Fox Engine in a presentation video at GDC 2013. 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’,” he stated.
“However, The Phantom Pain has enormous volume, so it will require much more time. So, together with the marketing staff, we consulted ‘what ifs’ and such, and came to the decision of allowing fans to at least play the prologue, ahead of time.”
“We want to offer it for as cheap as possible, so at first we thought about making it as a download only; however, after thinking about people around the world, and how some places don’t have the best connectivity, we’re preparing a physical version,” he further added.
And if anyone is still wondering as to why exactly is the company developing two different titles under the same banner – Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes being the first and Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain being the second – here's the explanation right from the horse's mouth:
“If I were to put it in Hollywood movie terms, the prologue, that is Ground Zeroes, would be similar to the first 10-15 minutes that are meant to ‘captivate’ [the audience],” Kojima stated, as scripted via Siliconera.
“At first, something will happen, then the title will appear like ‘bam!’ and then nine years later, a big event will be the start [of Metal Gear Solid V]. That’s how the story will be connected.”
“It would’ve actually been better to release it all at once, but by the way things are going, it appears likely that Phantom Pain will be coming out around the time the PlayStation 4 becomes more spread out. That means we would’ve had to make people wait a while longer,” he further added.
Both Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain are currently scheduled for release on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.