Over the last few days, a couple of interesting events are happening with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. First of all Konami hinted that the nuclear disarmament event may be approaching soon and then secondly, they bought back Quiet. However all of this seems to be something that was always planned from the beginning, if the game’s code is to be believed. We already knew that the nuclear disarmament scene is part of Chapter 2 however not many were aware that Konami always had the plan to bring back Quiet.
Dataminers on Reddit have found out new code within the game. Regarding Quiet, the game had function titled CAN_REUNION_QUIET which was always present from day one. So Konami did not cracked under fan pressure to bring back Quiet, it seems like it was a planned test to make sure that the fans feel the phantom pain of losing her and bringing her back when the time is right. Moving on, it seems there are two more functions that have yet to be executed. “AFTER_THE_GREAT_ESCAPE_LIQUID” and “STORY_SEQUENCE”. In order to explain the former, I will have to explain a bit of the game’s story. During the later events of Chapter 2, Liquid and his band of child soldiers run away with Metal Gear Sahelanthropus with Mantis controlling the mech. This event is initiated by the function “THE_GREAT_ESCAPE_LIQUID”. So you see the connection? “AFTER_THE_GREAT_ESCAPE_LIQUID” is clearly hinting towards Mission 51, the Phantom Episode. Mission 51’s incomplete scenes were included in the game’s collector’s edition. However there has been no official statement from Konami regarding its cancellation. Whether it was really scrapped or will be made available as DLC is something Konami has yet to comment on.
So what exactly is “STORY_SEQUENCE”? Well, I am not exactly sure. It could be a trigger function to start the “AFTER_THE_GREAT_ESCAPE_LIQUID” mission or just a new mission all together or could be nothing.
A few weeks back, I got in touch with a Konami representative and asked whether they have any plans for more story DLC/Chapter 3. I was told that it’s something they can’t answer. So this leads us to three possibilities. 1. A story DLC is incoming and they are waiting for the right moment. 2. Konami are taking a wait and see approach and trying to make money back with MGS5 sales, microstransations etc. 3. All of this is a lie and they are merely cashing in on fan’s hopes to make more sales.
It’s quite clear that fans want more story. One only needs to look at various gaming forums and discussion boards to gauge the hype. Konami surely knows that there is demand. The game’s story in its current state is disappointing and unless Konami has a major DLC upcoming that will resolve the loose ends, nothing will solve the uneven character development found in the game.
I will also like to add that this report should be taken with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, I won’t be surprised if Konami is indeed holding on to story missions and sell them as DLC. After all what else they have besides PES and Metal Gear to offer on consoles?