Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has long been considered the best game in the stealth-action franchise, and this year, a remake is aiming to bring the beloved game into the modern era. First revealed during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater retains the jungle survival gameplay of its PS2 source material, as well as its tight political plot, heartbreaking betrayals, and an origin story that shows how the legendary soldier Naked Snake earned the codename of Big Boss.
After combing through official assets, social media, and Konami data, we’ve managed to piece together an early look at the Snake Eater remake that’s currently in development.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater release date
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will be released on August 28.
Platforms
While it might have debuted at the PlayStation Showcase, don’t expect Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater to be a PlayStation exclusive. Konami has confirmed that the game will be available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
The game is also rumored to be in development for the Switch 2, the new Nintendo console that was officially revealed earlier this year.
Official screenshots
Gallery
Who is developing Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater?
Konami describes this remake of Metal Gear Solid 3 as one that “brings unprecedented new graphics, immersive stealth action gameplay and sounds to its riveting story as players once again return to the world of Metal Gear.”
Konami added that the “central role” will be taken on by Konami developers who have been “involved in the production of the past [games in the] Metal Gear series, and that they’ll be working alongside Virtuos, a studio who has also been “involved in the production of previous entries in the Metal Gear series.”
What’s new in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater?
Metal Gear Solid: Delta Snake Eater TGS 2024 Trailer
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While Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will primarily stick to the gameplay of the original PS2 game, you can expect several enhancements and quality-of-life changes.
First off, you’ll be able to choose between playing the game with modern controls in a modern third-person action game format or you can opt for a setup closer to the original game that comes with a traditional MGS top-down viewpoint. Players can also change their equipped camouflage on the fly with a quick-select button.
On a technical level, the shift to Unreal Engine 5 has also allowed Konami to overhaul the animations of Snake Eater as part of its modernization efforts.
“At the early stages, we had planned on only overhauling the graphics to modern standards, but we just didn’t think it would be satisfying to play if that was the only update, so in the end we remade nearly all the animations, and found ways to refresh almost every facet of the game, as well as fully realizing elements that were held back by technical limitations at the time of the original,” series producer Noriaki Okamura said in a blog post.
The original voiceover recordings from Snake Eater on PS2 have been kept for the remake, but some new lines have been recorded.
“We’re using all the original voice performances, but there are some lines where characters teach you the controls that really don’t match anymore,” Okamura explained in a 2024 interview. “So we actually did get the original actors to re-record just those. Plus, back then, twenty years ago, we actually had to compress the voice acting down a lot to fill all that audio. Today, we aren’t as limited. We don’t have to compromise as much on formats and compression, so we can actually have those performances in even higher quality.”
What does Metal Gear Solid Delta mean?
Confused by the use of that Greek symbol? The official Metal Gear Twitter account explained that the Delta symbol was chosen because its meaning “fits the concept” of the remake project. “Delta means change or difference without changing structure,” according to the account.
Is Hideo Kojima involved in Metal Gear Solid Delta?
Hideo Kojima and his key collaborators have no involvement with Delta. In an interview with IGN, Konami confirmed that Metal Gear Solid 3 director Hideo Kojima and his frequent artistic collaborator Yoji Shinkawa, who helped establish the signature design of the Metal Gear Solid series, are not involved with the remake.
“They are not involved,” a Konami spokesperson said. “However, the development team will work hard to create this remake and also the ports–for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection–so that they can be enjoyed on multiple platforms by even more players all around the world.”
After Kojima and Konami split ways during the development of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Konami began distancing itself and the series from Kojima. It even blocked him from accepting an award in person for The Phantom Pain at The Game Awards in 2015.
If there is one positive takeaway from the reveal trailer, it’s that this cinematic teaser has a lot of references to Snake Eater throughout it. While it might look like a BBC documentary that explains how the food chain works, you can see references to Shagohod, The End’s faithful companion, and even a codec conversation about giant ants.