A spokesperson for Konami has confirmed with IGN that Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima and artist Yoji Shinkawa are not involved in the recently announced Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater Remake in any capacity.
“They are not involved,” said the Konami spokesperson. “However, the development team will work hard to create this remake and also the ports (for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection) so that they can be enjoyed on multiple platforms by even more players all around the world.”
When asked who is working on the remake, they said the game is primarily being developed in-house at Konami with developers who have worked on past Metal Gear titles. These developers will be working with the studio Virtuos to co-develop the game. Virtuos has acted as a support developer for several AAA titles including Uncharted 4, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, and The Dark Souls Remaster.
When asked why they chose Metal Gear Solid 3 to remake they said it was because the game is the first game chronologically in the Metal Gear timeline and is a fan favorite among players.
“We chose Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater because it depicts the birth of BIG BOSS (Naked Snake), which is the starting point of the Metal Gear series,” a Konami spokesperson said. “Another reason is that many fans have been requesting a remake of this game for a long time.”
Part of the concern with the Snake Eater Remake is that Kojima did not leave Konami on good terms following his development team’s split from the publisher in 2015. Konami would later release the poorly received spin-off title Metal Gear Survive.
That being said we should keep in mind many popular franchises are not currently being worked on by their original creators including Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. In my opinion, it would be best to keep an open mind with the Snake Eater Remake until more details are revealed.
Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater will launch for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.