PlayStation Fans Upset After One of the Best PS3 Games Is Wiped From PSN

One of the best PS3 games just got removed from PSN without warning, leaving PlayStation fans no option to purchase said game. Delistings are increasingly common, but they are typically newer games only, as they are the result of expiring licenses or server shutdowns. However, publishers do sometimes re-release games, whether via port, remaster, or remake, and when some do this, they delist older versions of the title in the process. And we appear to have another example of this.

Konami — without issuing any warning — has delisted both Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker from PSN. This leaves PlayStation fans with no option to purchase these games in their original form. In the case of the former, Metal Gear Solid 4, this delisting has only happened on PSN, but Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker has also been delisted on Xbox 360. Additionally, the PSP version has been taken down with the PS3 version. That said, while Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker remains purchasable via the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Metal Gear Solid 4 was never released beyond its original form on the PS3, so now there is no option to purchase it digitally.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 To Blame?

As you may know, Konami is set to release Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 later this year on August 27. This collection will include both of these games, so these delistings are presumably in preparation for this release. As noted, this isn’t common practice, but it does happen, and, in particular, Japanese publishers have gone with this approach.

Konami has not said a word about the delistings, so all we have is speculation. And we do not expect this to change for various reasons, but if it does, we will update the story accordingly. In the meantime, users of legacy consoles, purists, preservationists, and hardcore fans alike are not pleased or impressed with this decision from Konami.

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PlayStation Fans Not Happy

A post with over 500,000 views on X has slammed Konami for this development, saying “shame on them for this.”

“Thankfully, physical copies of these are pretty accessible, but yeah, this sucks. They should at least give people a warning,” adds another Metal Gear Solid fan.

As this second fan points out, physical copies of Metal Gear Solid 4 — and Peace Walker — are reasonably priced for games from this generation, which takes some of the sting out of this move, but there are many, especially in the modern era, who are digital only. If you are one of these people, and you want to play Metal Gear Solid 4, you will have to wait until August 27 and then buy the entire Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, which will cost substantially more.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.