Metal Gear Survive Bombed And Here's The Reason Why

Metal Gear Solid is an absolutely beloved franchise that has won the respect of many gamers around the world. While fans love the series, not every installment is a hit. In fact, one of the absolute worst games of 2018 was an MGS title.

Metal Gear Survive is billed as a "Co-op, Stealth game that takes a divergent look at familiar METAL GEAR themes and pursues a fresh spirit of exploration in unique gameplay mechanics." The game's story takes place in "an alternate timeline" that features zombies and an online co-op mode for up to four players. 

If the premise sounds a little odd, that's because it was made after series creator Hideo Kojima and Konami split. Kojima himself has publicly dismissed the game, and apparently, he wasn't alone. Metal Gear Survive was a sizable failure, and considering the shady way in which Konami cut ties with Kojima, fans probably didn't have much sympathy. 

At the time of Survive's release, USgamer theorized that mediocre reviews led to the game's poor sales. However, there may be another reason for why Metal Gear Survive was ultimately seen as a major failure.

As Ben Gilbert of Business Insider put it, the lack of Kojima's input essentially meant that Metal Gear Survive "may as well be named something else." After all, it speaks volumes that the first installment made without his involvement could be considered "the worst entry in the series," according to Game Rant's Richard Warren. Because Kojima's influence and style is so integral to the Metal Gear Solid franchise, is it possible that the game could have had a different fate under a different name?

In a Reddit post simply titled "Metal Gear Survive sucks," a few users actually defended the game. One wrote, "I wish they had the means/motivation to drop the Metal Gear branding from this game. I thought the gameplay was fun . . . I'm just having a hard time accepting that [this] is connected to Metal Gear." Another who enjoyed it said, "It's no MGS, but it's not trying to be."

A Redditor who was critical of the game called it "a blatant cash grab and misuse of the franchise title," while another said, "Stop supporting Konami if you love the MG franchise." 

Since Kojima was absent, Konami may have had more success rebranding this under a new name. Unfortunately, it instead reminds fans of the unsavory rift between Konami and Kojima.