"There's No Pay to Win Option" in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Dev Says

Konami has released a 40 minute Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain gameplay video with developer commentary during E3 2015, and it starts by addressing the issue of microtransactions, a new addition to the series that's been worrying fans.

"While it is true that a few microtransactions option due exists, the entire game has been carefully balanced to be fair and enjoyable with or without using these options," Konami said. "There's no pay to win option. Rest assured that every single item, weapon, and mission in the game is available to all players without paying a single cent."

"However, due to the sheer scale of the game and the time required to explore it all, microtransactions were added as a completely optional feature for players who might not be able to spend as much time with the game, nothing more, nothing less."

Commentary about microtransactions aside, the video is well worth watching if you're curious about The Phantom Pain. It give us a comprehensive look at the game's buddy system, side missions, dynamic weather, and many other system new to the series.

Konami added that more information on how all this will work will be announced in the future.

GameSpot recently got its hands on a portion of The Phantom Pain; you can read our impressions here.

The Phantom Pain launches worldwide on September 1 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. According to sources, Kojima will leave Konami when the game ships.