This Is How Solid Snake Got His Name

In the world of video games, there's often a great story behind the names given to some of our favorite characters. Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series is no exception, especially when you remember who created him: Hideo Kojima, a sort of video game rock star if there ever was one.

In the past, some have speculated that Solid Snake was named after Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken in the movie Escape from New York. And if you look at Big Boss — who players later control in Metal Gear Solid 5 – the eye patch worn by Russell's movie character certainly seems to make that idea plausible.

However, it's not true. And on Twitter a few years back, Hideo Kojima dished on exactly where the Snake name came from, and how Solid Snake got his "hard" nickname.

"The reason I used Snake as a code name in MG was snake was the most appropriate symbol of living thing that hides his presence, and sneaks without any noise," Kojima tweeted. "The reason why I didn't use any specific snake names like cobra, anaconda or viper was because the protagonist is the player. The reason I use Solid was to give opposite impression of soft image."

It certainly seems like Kojima's pick for a name did its job. Solid Snake is one of several Snakes but is perhaps the most popular after bursting onto the scene in the PlayStation title Metal Gear Solid. And it's possible that popularity helped with his selection as a character in the Super Smash Bros. series, where the competitive community has taken to him as a top choice in tournaments.

Unfortunately, the odds of us seeing Solid Snake in a Metal Gear game again aren't all that great. Hideo Kojima has since left Konami, and the company seems uninterested in carrying the franchise forward. We'll definitely let you know if anything changes on that front. But it's possible we've seen our last of Solid Snake outside of cameos in other titles, and that's kind of sad.

At least you know how Solid Snake got his name, though.