Kojima says MGSV Ground Zeroes was initially an ‘experiment’ for a series of episodic games

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes was at one point intended to be the first episode of a larger episodic series, creator Hideo Kojima has revealed.

Speaking on Twitter to mark the game’s ninth anniversary, Kojima explained that Ground Zeroes was intended to be a prologue for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, but that it was also an “experiment” that could have potentially led to an episodic series.

“Ground Zeroes was originally planned as a prologue to Metal Gear Solid V,” Kojima wrote, saying the game was “an important introduction to root Snake’s  vengeance in the main story, and the theme of MGSV is retribution.”

“Since PS4 was launched at the end of 2013, the game was pre-released with the PS4, Fox Engine and open world to introduce the new Metal Gear Solid and also to provide feedback to the main game in mind,” he explained.

Kojima then revealed that he intended to release Ground Zeroes as the start of an ongoing project.

“The development of a full game takes 4-5 years [and] times change during production,” he 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.”

The Japanese version of Kojima’s Twitter thread goes into more detail, stating that the plan was to “produce one episode and distribute it [then] distribute episodes 2 and 3 while getting feedback”.

“However,” he concluded, “many people seemed to expect Ground Zeroes to be a ‘full game’ after its release, and they did not understand it. I have a feeling it was too early.”

Kojima is currently working on Death Stranding 2, the first trailer for which was shown at The Game Awards 2022.

Kojima also announced last June that he had teamed up with Xbox to work on a cloud-based project which he described as a “never-before-seen concept”.