After months of rumors concerning the series' revival, today's PlayStation Showcase confirmed that Metal Gear Solid will be making its triumphant return to PlayStation via the release of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection, Vol. 1 and a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3. The Master Collection will contain the first three games from the Metal Gear Solid series and the announcement gave no specifics regarding the launch date of the collection other than that it will be arriving in Autumn 2023. Sony and Konami's commitment to bring one of the PlayStation's flagship franchises back to the platform is reminiscent of how Nintendo have handled their legacy titles on the Switch.
In addition to being host to a wide range of collections of retro games and legendary franchises, the Switch has hosted many of Nintendo's greatest first-party titles through its Switch Online service. What began as a modest collection of NES and SNES titles has blossomed into including Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo 64 classics from both Nintendo and third-party studios. Sony bringing Metal Gear Solid to the PSN via the Master Collection is a welcome announcement and just might indicate that fans are in store for more legacy titles on the platform, taking a page out of Nintendo's playbook.
Sony Understands the Importance of the PlayStation's Back Catalog
Nintendo has successfully maintained a dedicated legion of loyal fans across four decades spanning multiple generations of hardware. Part of this success is due to the company's acknowledgment and embracing of its history while also moving forward into the modern era. What began with the Virtual Console program on the Wii has now evolved into one of the most robust and comprehensive libraries of retro titles on the Nintendo Switch. Bringing new experiences to players while also honoring the titles from its past that fans hold dear has been a winning strategy for Nintendo.
With the release of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection, Sony is showing a similar willingness to embrace its past while simultaneously moving franchises associated with the platform forward into next-gen territory. Fans of the Metal Gear Solid franchise would have likely been plenty thrilled to just have the reveal and announcement of the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake during the PlayStation showcase, but Sony pulled a one-two punch of also surprising those same loyal fans with the reveal that the classic titles in the series were making their way to the platform. The Metal Gear Solid collection may give way to other flagship PlayStation franchises receiving the same treatment on PSN or as part of a physical release.
The Title of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection May Indicate Future Entries
Perhaps most interesting about the announcement of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection is that it was labeled as Vol. 1, indicating that fans may be in store for a future Vol. 2. As far as what games a potential Metal Gear Solid Master Collection, Vol. 2 might include, one could only hope that Metal Gear Solid 4 is at the top of the list. MGS4 has been trapped behind PlayStation 3 exclusivity for over a decade, and the return of the Metal Gear Solid franchise on PS5 is a perfect excuse to revive the title and bring it to modern hardware.
Nintendo recently found similar success through the revival of the Metroid franchise, first earning Game of the Year nods with Metroid Dread and then gradually bringing the series' past highlights to the Nintendo Switch through either the Switch Online library or the remaster of Metroid Prime. If Sony is attempting to follow Nintendo's Metroid strategy with the return of Metal Gear Solid, it's entirely possible that a modern remaster of Metal Gear Solid 4 may already be in the works as a companion release to the Master Collection. Hopefully, fans won't have along wait between the release of the Metal Gear Solid collection and the announcement of more franchise entries making their way to the PlayStation.
Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 is in development.