At this point, the long saga of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, and its incomplete state, prompting wild guesswork and theories about exactly what the mythical Episode 51 and Chapter 3 may entail, and whether or not they would be coming in the first place.

Recently, Konami put an end to all that when they confirmed that no new content would be in Metal Gear Solid 5: Definitive Edition, and that no more content is left for the game- but it appears as though that may not have always been the plan. YouTuber YongYea recently revealed in a video that an unnamed source – he was very careful not to divulge their identity – had confirmed to him that Episode 51 was originally going to be post launch DLC for the game. YongYea speculates that the plan may have been for Kojima to stay on at Konami and make more content for The Phantom Pain after its launch.

I’d say that you should take this with a liberal helping of salt. Whether or not this is true is unknown, although YongYea is generally trusted within the Metal Gear community – but one thing is clear, the final chapter in the Metal Gear saga is incomplete, and is likely to remain so forever.

Earlier today, we reported that Konami had confirmed that Metal Gear Solid 5‘s episode 51 was not going to be the ending– which begs the question as to what the datamined Chapter 3 card that has been so widely circulated since last year is.

With the Definitive Edition now having been confirmed to not have any extra content, most MGS fans at this point have given up hope that The Phantom Pain‘s missing content will ever see the light of day. However, just because it does not have any extra content does not mean that it will not have Chapter 3- which may sound contradictory, but Robert Allen Peeler, Online Community Manager for the Metal Gear franchise, has hinted that Chapter 3 may be nothing more than nuclear disarmament, a widely known endgame goal of The Phantom Pain since last year, on Twitter. In response to a fan trying to speculate on what Peeler may have meant, he also said ‘the simplest answer is… the correct one, no need to overthink it.’

On Reddit, he also said that the team sees no reason to remove the datamined Chapter 3: Peace card at this point, since it’s so widely in circulation anyway. Speaking about what would happen if disarmament was achieved, he also said that nuclear disarmament is something that he would like to see happen, but it’s entirely up to the players to trigger that. That said, he did refuse to commit to something actually happening when disarmament actually happens.

Meanwhile, the Metal Gear official Twitter account noted that the development team has no plans to trigger the disarmament cutscenes manually- so if players can achieve global nuclear disarmament, good on them. If not, looks like we may never get to see the disarmament peace ending officially.

Metal Gear Solid 5 is now available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and PC, with the Definitive Edition releasing on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in October.

it contains the same nuclear disarmament goals as the initial release so…

— Robert Allen Peeler (@popcicle) August 30, 2016

the simplest answer is likely the correct one, no need to overthink it

— Robert Allen Peeler (@popcicle) August 30, 2016

It's up to players to fulfill nuclear disarmament or not. I'd like to see it happen personally but its not required

— Robert Allen Peeler (@popcicle) August 30, 2016

Id like to be clear, but for this, I'd rather not stipulate on what, if anything, happens with nuclear disarmament

— Robert Allen Peeler (@popcicle) August 30, 2016

I understood, the team has no current plans to manually unlock cutscenes for players

— METAL GEAR OFFICIAL (@Metalgear) August 30, 2016

@x55StarGeneralx @popcicle we have no plans to force nuclear weapon ownership

— METAL GEAR OFFICIAL (@metalgear_en) August 30, 2016

Hideo Kojima is known for being a troll- he sets up and creates elaborate ruses, and loves to engage in mind games with fans. Given that, plus given the lack of closure some have had on some of his recent projects – the still unreleased (and likely never to release) P.T., for example, or the fabled Chapter 3 in Metal Gear Solid 5 – people tend to read a whole lot into what he’s saying and doing, trying to maybe fit it into a larger narrative of their liking.

In their defense, they are probably encouraged by Kojima also playing along with fans- and in his defense, he plays along with them because playing along with them is all he can do. Take this newest set of tweets and retweets, for instance. Kojima’s secretary tweeted a picture of Kojima standing under a cafe. And the board that Kojima was standing under? Well, that just happened to read PT. Real subtle there, Kojima. Real subtle.

Then there is another tweet, this one by a fan, jokingly tweeting about the confirmation of Chapter 3 for Metal Gear Solid 5– and this is one tweet that Kojima happened to just retweet. Why Kojima, why? Why must you play with our feelings so?

I guess this is why he commands a fanbase like none other, though!

本日の小島監督。
Hideo Kojima today. pic.twitter.com/4pOSO6LiWi

— Ayako (Touchy!) (@Kaizerkunkun) August 1, 2016

Chapter 3 Confirmed
Venom Snake is Gray Fox !!@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN @Kojima_Hideo pic.twitter.com/83tFADHMmM

— Bayu Porter BRIDGES (@bayuarafat) August 1, 2016