Kojima: Metal Gear Solid 5 is the Last in the Series

The central Metal Gear story will conclude with the release of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, series creator Hideo Kojima has said, in what appears to be a suggestion that the new-gen title will be the last main instalment in the series.

Kojima, who has a reputation for claiming he is finished with the series only to continue working on it, this time did not go as far as suggest he was done with Metal Gear games. But in an interview with IGN, he did suggest that the future of the franchise would likely be spin-offs and reboots.

"Even if the Metal Gear franchise continues, this is the last Metal Gear"

Hideo Kojima

"I always say this will be my last Metal Gear," Kojima said, "but the games in the series that I've personally designed and produced--Metal Gear on MSX, MG2, MGS1, 2, 3, 4, Peace Walker, and now MGSV--are what constitute a single Metal Gear Saga. With MGSV, I'm finally closing the loop on that saga."

"In that sense, this will be the final Metal Gear Solid," Kojima continued. "Even if the Metal Gear franchise continues, this is the last 'Metal Gear.'"

Kojima Productions has worked on series spin-offs such as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (developed by Platinum Games) as well as Metal Gear Solid Touch for iPhone. It has also partnered with external studios for reboots, such as the GameCube title Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (developed by Silicon Knights) and the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (developed by several studios across a range of platforms).

Metal Gear Solid V remains the missing link in the story, and will depict how the MGS3 protagonist Big Boss transforms into the antagonist in the 1987 game Metal Gear.

Once that transition is complete, the story loop will be closed. It is not clear yet whether, following this, Kojima Productions will work on remastering older games in the series for next-gen systems.

The Metal Gear Solid V release date is set for September 1 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The PC launch will occur two weeks later.

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