Hideo Kojima Spotted in Metal Gear Solid 5

Hideo Kojima has made a cameo appearance in the latest stealth action game, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Continuing Kojima Production's tradition of splicing its designers in Metal Gear, Kojima can be recruited as a Mother Base worker in the series' latest title after being rescued again, as depicted in the image above.

Mother Base acts as an operations hub in the Phantom Pain, where players can assign various tasks for soldiers who were captured in-game, such as working on R&D to develop new weapons, or joining the medic bay to concoct more effective medicine. Kojima's speciality appears to be Intel, with an s-rank rating, though he is also given an A+ rank for Research and Development skills.

GameSpot video producer Edmond Tran posted two images of the discovery on his Twitter profile, showing that Kojima's character arrives at Mother Base as a "special volunteer."

Tran told GameSpot that Kojima joins Mother Base only if the character was saved during a special side-quest in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. Kaz Miller, the in-game character who manages Mother Base, explains that several characters who were rescued in Ground Zeroes will eventually join Mother Base.

It therefore appears that the Phantom Pain can access Ground Zeroes save files from the same console, and use that data to create unique content for people who have bought both games.

An in-game model of Hideo Kojima has not yet been discovered in The Phantom Pain yet, and it is not clear if the game designer's appearance goes beyond a Mother Base profile.

Kojima has previously made cameo appearances in several previous Metal Gear titles, such as the PSP game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and the GameCube remaster, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes.

In March, GameSpot revealed that Kojima is expected to leave Konami shortly after the release of Metal Gear Solid V, due to a relationship breakdown with his employer Konami. It is not clear how the situation has evolved since.

Peter Moore, an executive at Electronic Arts, expects Kojima and Konami will "kiss and make up."

Further Reading: Metal Gear Solid 5 Guide: Nine Tips for Surviving Afghanistan.