The upcoming remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is certainly ambitious. Taking one of the most elaborate gaming projects of the early 2000s and sprucing it up with modern third-person stealth and shooter mechanics along with a fresh coat of graphical paint is no easy task, and the challenges involved go well beyond the technical. The Metal Gear Solid games are pretty sacred works of art in gaming history, so diehard fans are certain to shine a critical eye on this game once it releases. But there’s another person who may also be interested in what’s going on with this project: Hideo Kojima, the man who wrote and directed the original game. Well, if you thought Kojima was going to be all in on sneaking around in the jungles and chomping on snakes in 2025, you’re wrong.
Speaking with writer Kevin Nguyen in a piece for Canadian fashion retailer Ssense (1700 bucks for a miniskirt, anyone?) Kojima discusses a range of topics, from needing eye surgery right as the pandemic hit to gaining inspiration from art installations and what he thinks of modern games, which overall he seems to find very predictable. One notable modern game that gets a mention is the upcoming remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Asked point blank if he’ll play it, Kojima is reported to have laughed before saying, “No, I won’t.”
Now to be clear, in the same interview, Kojima also expresses that he simply doesn’t have time to play many games right now. The dude’s busy being the enigmatic creative wildman that he is, and so time he could spend playing games is spent seeking out fine art and, naturally, watching films. He’s also critical of the industry in general, noting we’re in a period of perpetual studio closures and even taking a shot at Summer Games Fest, which he describes as endless reels of the same “visuals and systems” to portray a power fantasy of fighting monsters, aliens, and unnamed soldiers in a perpetual war. To make things worse, Kojima is somewhat unimpressed with the experience (or lack thereof) some studios have with military weaponry. Conducting research for his own games about war and violence, Kojima “learned so many ways to kill people,” he told Nguyen. So for Kojima, it’s not just that most games these days are just power fantasies; they’re also seemingly not interested in learning from what real war and violence tends to look like.
It’s not surprising that Kojima doesn’t seem too excited about playing MGS3’s upcoming remake. In fact, the interview speculates that the legendary game developer is still affected by the rough split between himself and Konami. The piece describes Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which was developed in his final years with the publisher, as “pushed out” and “unfinished,” something fans have long debated based on the odd narrative structure of The Phantom Pain and the presence of an unfinished third chapter which might’ve tied up some ill-fitting loose ends presented to the player at the game’s conclusion. Then again, maybe it was simply something Kojima chose to leave on the cutting room floor. We may never know.
Kojima’s a serial internet poster, quick to share many opinions on films, games, and other creative works. But it looks like he probably won’t be talking up the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater on his Bluesky timeline.
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