It has been 14 years since the release of the critically-acclaimed PSP classic Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. To celebrate, its esteemed director – the legendary video game auteur Hideo Kojima – has been sharing little-known facts about its development on X.
Most interestingly, Kojima confirmed that Peace Walker was originally intended to be titled “Metal Gear Solid 5: Peace Walker”. This will likely come as a surprise to fans of the hit stealth action series, given that the fifth Metal Gear Solid was actually released some years after Peace Walker.
In a post on X, Kojima explained that “[Peace Walker] was proposed as a horizontal evolution of MGS. It was originally called MGS5PW”. However, his planned title proved controversial – he explained that “it was so heavily opposed by the marketing team that the sequential numbering was abandoned.”
The exact reason for the marketing team’s opposition is unclear. However, it may have been due to the game being a PSP exclusive title.
After all, previous mainline Metal Gear Solid games had been released exclusively on home consoles (such as the PS1, PS2, and PS3). Peace Walker also introduced significant gameplay changes, including the Fulton Recovery System, Mother Base management, co-op, and other multiplayer elements.
In the same tweet, Hideo Kojima also explained that the target demographic was actually lower for Peace Walker than previous Metal Gear titles. “The target age group was lowered to elementary, junior high, and high school students because it was for the PSP.”, he said.
Kojima further elaborated that there was one key reason for this change: “The aim was to discover the younger generation and acquire fans of two generations: the kids and their parents.”
Peace Walker was ultimately released on 29 April 2010 in Japan (international releases followed in June). It is widely regarded as one of the best PSP games ever made.
It was followed a direct sequel split into two parts – Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. MGSV adapted and expanded the beloved gameplay from Peace Walker using the power of eighth generation consoles.
It acted as the so-called “missing link” between the story of Peace Walker and 1987’s Metal Gear and was the final instalment in the series before Kojima’s controversial departure from Konami.
Do you think Peace Walker should have been titled “Metal Gear Solid 5”? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
