Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes Foretold Hideo Kojima’s Departure

One of the "Deja Vu" missions of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes eerily foretells Konami's removal Hideo Kojima's name from the series.

YouTuber timesplitter88 (courtesy of GameSpot) posted footage from a secret mission in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes that features Snake erasing the names of the Metal Gear games that Hideo Kojima worked on. I never found this mission myself while playing the Deja Vu sequences, so take the provided video with a grain of salt in terms of its authenticity. The video starts with the logo of the now-defunct Kojima Productions printed on the side of storage building in the middle of the Cuban military base where Ground Zeroes takes place. This logo of Kojima Productions is missing its trademark fox icon, showcasing an empty, black circle with the name of the studio underneath, reflecting Konami's dismantling of the studio. This image symbolizes the sad state of the franchise now that Kojima Productions was disbanded and Kojima himself is most likely leaving Konami after Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is finished.

During the mission, Big Boss has to locate the names of all the Metal Gear games released throughout the years, and the names have been scattered in hidden areas of the base. Aiming the flashlight of Snake's gun at these titles clears them off your objective list. If Kojima was involved with making the game, the title actually fades away after shining your light on it. The lesser-popular titles of the franchise, such as Metal Gear Acid, don't disappear, as these were some of the weaker entries of the series that Kojima didn't handle. Nevertheless, we're left with a grim reminder of how much Konami will likely mess up the franchise once Kojima is gone.

It's just like Kaz Miller says during the mission:

"You might be able to erase the markings, but the memories will never disappear."

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will launch on Sept. 1 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Despite Konami's recent acts, The Phantom Pain is "A Hideo Kojima Game."

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