Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes Was a Test to See if an Episodic Format Could Work – Hideo Kojima

Celebrating the ninth anniversary of the release of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, series creator Hideo Kojima revealed on Twitter that the release was originally intended to be an “experiment” to see whether an episodic release could work for Metal Gear Solid.

“The development of a full game takes 4-5 years [and] times change during production,” Kojima explained. “So I thought of offering an episodic format, like a streamed drama, where one episode is produced and distributed. Ground Zeroes was meant to be an experiment.”

Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes also acted as a sort of prologue to Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, showing us the events that would lead Venom Snake down his dark path of vengeance against Skull Face. On his Japanese Twitter account, Kojima also spoke about the idea of releasing episodes 2 and 3 while getting feedback for the design of future episodes.

Players, however, expected Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes to be a ‘full game’ on release. “I have a feeling it was too early,” said Kojima.

In fact, it was my big intention to launch GZ. The development of a full game takes for 4-5 yrs. Times change during production. So I thought of offering an episodic format, like a streamed drama, where one episode is produced and distributed. GZ was meant to be an experiment. https://t.co/EeyJAs2HCR

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 20, 2023