Iconic Metal Gear Solid Design Becomes Real-Life Prosthetic

The Metal Gear Solid series is notorious for many of its elements, including its winding narrative, fascinating characters, stealth gameplay, and military technology. The latter element will soon be replicated in real life, as Konami, in collaboration with prosthetics developer Open Bionics, is releasing a prosthetic arm designed after Venom Snake's arm from 2015's Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

Open Bionics released a video demonstrating the prosthetic arm, worn by Daniel Melville, a gamer from England who was born without a right hand. The video shows Daniel positioning and using the arm, which appears to function very well as an effective prosthetic limb. "This is unbelievable," Melville stated. A gamer and Metal Gear Solid fan himself, he told Game Rant the prosthetic is "everything I've ever wanted from a bionic arm."

In Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, the prosthetic is attached to Venom Snake's left arm following an attack that took place in the game's 2014 predecessor, Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. In The Phantom Pain, players can use the arm for a range of purposes, as it doubles as a weapon and tactical advantage for Venom Snake. The real-life replica looks identical to the red iteration of its video game counterpart. With a dark red and black exterior, the bionic arm is a Metal Gear Solid fan's dream come true, which Melville's enthusiasm illustrates.

In 2015, Open Bionics began developing a similarly inspired prosthetic arm for James Young, a gamer and amputee from London. Since then, Open Bionics has seemingly refined the arm altogether with a less bulky design and a sleeker appearance. Further, Open Bionics has made the bionic arm available to the public. As such, there will likely be similar displays from more Metal Gear Solid fans in the future.

Although the Metal Gear Solid series remains an incredibly popular one that includes multiple classics, it has been dormant ever since Metal Gear Survive's release in 2018. Konami hasn't announced any plans for a Metal Gear Solid 6, so while Metal Gear Solid 5's conclusion didn't satisfy every Metal Gear Solid 5 fan, it will have to do for the time being.

However, even for fans wanting more from the Metal Gear Solid series, series director Hideo Kojima's split with Konami has left the franchise's future ambiguous. Kojima has announced a new project he's working on, following the release of 2019's Death Stranding. However, it's very unlikely Hideo Kojima will return to the Metal Gear Solid franchise for any more installments.