Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima announces a new stealth-action game, Physint

It’s a red letter day for Metal Gear Solid fans - Hideo Kojima’s working on a new stealth game.

Announced as part of PlayStation’s 'State of Play' conference, Kojima’s next project will be a "next-generation action espionage game", which sounds encouragingly like a continuation of the MGS formula in all but name. This one’s called - and don’t ask us why - Physint.

Metal Gear Solid remains the intellectual property of publisher Konami, whom Kojima worked since the franchise’s first release with 1987’s Metal Gear and up to 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. After its release, Kojima and Konami parted ways and the legendary developer created a new studio, Kojima Productions.

We’ve had a new IP from that studio since then: 2019’s bizarre and bewitching Death Stranding. It’s as good as a dystopian sci-fi courier sim could possibly be, and typically Kojima in its obsessive attention to detail. But it’s not Metal Gear Solid.

Konami released one further MGS title after Kojima’s departure. 2018’s Metal Gear Survive was received with all the warm welcome of a speeding ticket, and the franchise has gone quiet ever since.

That’s why the reveal of Physint is a big deal, then - it feels like the spiritual rebirth of one of gaming’s great series, after a dormant period.

"Preparations are underway, but production will begin in earnest at Kojima Productions after Death Stranding 2," said Kojima during the State of Play announcement. Death Stranding 2 is due in 2025, so we’ll all need to be patient for a few years before Physint arrives.

Just as Death Stranding has a planned movie tie-in, Kojima hints that there’s a similar arrangement for Physint.

"Of course, it is an interactive game, but it is also a movie at the same time, in terms of look, story, theme, cast, acting, fashion and sound. With this title, we hope to transcend the barriers between film and video games."

That might mean two separate releases in different media forms. Or it might be something more like Microsoft and Remedy’s ambitious (and, inevitably, flawed) Quantum Break, which told its story through a combination of live action and interactive gameplay.

We’ve got a few years to scour for clues, anyway. Time to start replaying the MGS series again, just to refresh our memories.