Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, the stealth action game that was set years before the events of MGSV: The Phantom Pain, turned nine years old a few days ago, and creator Hideo Kojima revealed some interesting information about the title.
In a recent tweet by the game’s creator, Kojima stated that Ground Zeroes was originally set to be a prologue to MGSV.
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9 years since its release! GZ was originally planned as a prologue to MGSV. GZ was originally planned as a prologue to MGSV, an important introduction to root Snake's (the player's) vengeance in the main story, and the theme of MGSV is retribution. pic.twitter.com/3M1znrbbtG— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 20, 2023
A follow-up tweet by Kojima also revealed that Ground Zeroes was an “experiment” of sorts. As game development took years for a single title, Kojima played around with the idea of a more episodic format for MGSV, something similar to a “streamed drama.”
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
This likely explains why Ground Zeroes, despite its generally well-received gameplay and story, is much shorter than an average video game title. Players only needed a few hours to beat the story in its entirety, and due to Ground Zeroes being priced more similarly to larger and lengthier games, not everybody felt like they got their money’s worth.
Even years after the release of Ground Zeroes, Hideo Kojima continues to make a name for himself in the video game industry thanks to his unique design approach. Death Stranding 2, the upcoming sequel to Kojima’s first game under Kojima Productions, was announced last year during The Game Awards, and while we haven’t heard much from him since then, we do know that he has “surprises” planned for 2023.