Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is in desperate need of a modern remaster or remake. This is something that a number of Metal Gear fans have agreed on for years at this point, but this request is only becoming further amplified in light of a new leak associated with PlayStation. Assuming that this leak becomes accurate, it seems like it will be harder than ever before to experience Metal Gear Solid 4 without owning the original platform that the game was released on all the way back in 2008.
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Within the past month, it was seemingly divulged that Metal Gear Solid 4 is going to be exiting PlayStation Now before the service merges with PlayStation Plus in June. This removal from PS Now is said to be happening on May 17th, which is right around the corner. Essentially, those who might want to play the fourth mainline Metal Gear Solid entry will no longer have the chance to do so via PlayStation’s streaming service after this date.
So why is this such a big deal? Well, MGS4 is a game that has never been released on a platform outside of PlayStation 3. As such, the most accessible way to play the game in recent years was likely through PS Now. Assuming your Internet connection was strong enough, this allowed users on PS4 and PS5 to still play the game on their consoles without needing to have an actual PS3 at their disposal. In less than a week, though, this might no longer be true, which means that Metal Gear Solid 4 could be gridlocked entirely on PS3.
This whole situation is a bummer, for sure, but it also just goes to stress that Konami absolutely needs to at the very least remaster Metal Gear Solid 4 for new consoles. To not have the full Metal Gear Solid series playable and easily accessible in 2022 is essentially a crime against video games. Not to mention, Metal Gear Solid 4 is just an awesome game in its own right that more people need to revisit or be able to play for the first time without having to jump through so many hoops. This entry is one of the most unique in the series and serves as the chronological end to the franchise’s sprawling, insane narrative. To be unable to see the end of the Metal Gear story arc without owning a legacy PlayStation console is just disappointing.
The problem with this whole situation is that, at least in recent years, Konami has shown an extreme unwillingness to do anything with its largest franchises. Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, and Silent Hill have all been lying dormant for a long period of time now and it doesn’t seem like that might change any time soon. Metal Gear Solid, in particular, hasn’t had any movement outside of Metal Gear Survive since creator Hideo Kojima left the company in 2015. All of this is to say that things seem dire at Konami, at least in regard to the properties that fans are most passionate about.
It remains to be seen if Konami ends up changing its current trajectory any time soon, but at least in the case of Metal Gear Solid 4, this is a game that the publisher needs to do something with sooner rather than later. As time passes, it’s only going to become more likely that Metal Gear fans will look to use emulators or other tools (as if they haven’t been doing this already) to play MGS4 in ways that don’t involve the game’s original version on PS3. So, if Konami wants to actually tap into an audience that would be desperate to hand over their money, it would be smart for a new version of Metal Gear Solid 4 to become available sooner rather than later on current-gen devices.
