Next 'Metal Gear Solid' Already in the Works? [Release Date, Gameplay & Rumors]

Video game publisher Konami seems to have been pumped up with the success of Metal Gear Solid V5: The Phantom Pain with reports from Nikkei that the said game title has already sold over five million copies globally.

With that bit of good news, Konami seem to be moving forward and the next game title in the works is believed to be Metal Gear Solid. Though the information gathered from Kotaku are a bit raw, the thing is that Konami may have to resort to a large-scale investment to make this next game title a reality.

Could the necessary budget to make Metal Gear Solid be way over the $80 million mark that was needed to develop Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain? If so, up to how much is Konami willing to shell out just to make it happen?

Apparently, these are just some of the questions surrounding Konami’s plans although there is another issue that needs to be addressed.

This has something to do with the real score on series creator Hideo Kojima. Is he still on board or has he jumped ship? Konami claims that Kojima is just on vacation.

 A report, however, says otherwise, claiming that Kojima Productions LA studio has already shut down.

BREAKING: Rumor tells me that Konami has shut down the Kojima Productions LA studio, taking with it approx 35 jobs, just before Xmas.

— George Broussard (@georgeb3dr) November 3, 2015

With that said, it could mean that Konami may be planning to develop Metal Gear Solid but with an entirely new crew. This bit could be good or bad looking forward with regard to the planned game.

Bad in the sense that Konami could be taking a big risk moving forward without the tested team of Kojima. Apparently Kojima has proven what he can do and is considered one of the main reasons why game has been a success.

On the other hand, moving on from Kojima could be also good since it does leave a lot of gamers thinking on how Konami be approaching the planned game title. There will be of course skepticism at this point with a change of team composition but Konami is expected to know its stuff.

Also, a rumored breakup between Konami and Kojima is not yet official so it would be best not to totally shoot down the partnership for now. The closure of Kojima Productions does seem a bit surprising but then again it may have been done for a reason. And here is that statement:

KONAMI has made the decision to close its Los Angeles Studio, effective immediately, due to the product development resources being restructured into a more centralized unit. This facility contributed to the recent METAL GEAR SOLID games. KONAMI will continue its operations to support all METAL GEAR SOLID titles, including the recently launched METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Phanton Pain and METAL GEAR ONLINE. METAL GEAR ONLINE is still scheduled to release for PC Steam in January 2016.

If there is indeed friction between the two sides, much of that could be resolved by the time official development for the game begins.