Konami has proven off a brand new tackle Metallic Gear multiplayer, with Metallic Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater boasting a web-based mode, Fox Hunt. This follows a latest tease that many, myself included, thought indicated a return of the beloved Metallic Gear On-line.
Properly, no cube, however Fox Hunt really appears to be like fairly cool and, greater than the rest, jogs my memory of rival stealther Splinter Cell’s equally cherished Spies vs Mercs multiplayer. The brand new video options Yu Sahara, the director of Fox Hunt, speaking over some footage of the brand new mode, which encompasses a pared-back model of MGS4’s octocamo stealth system: When a participant briefly pauses whereas touching a floor, they will mechanically mix into varied environmental textures quite than having to pick the precise one from a menu like in MGS3’s singleplayer.
Sahara’s guiding rules are fairly nicely aligned with MGS’s core methods: “hide-and-go-seek” is a recurring phrase, in addition to the “back-and-forth pressure of staying hidden or looking for the enemy.”
It’s onerous to inform from the gameplay clips precisely how that is working, however in addition to Spies Versus Mercs it has some similarity to the Metallic Gear On-line mode Workforce Sneaking. In that, one aspect has the stealth camo and non-lethal loadouts, whereas the opposite aspect has no camo however deadly weapons. The sneaking aspect received by both KO-ing the deadly aspect one-by-one, although each time a participant takes a shot your entire workforce briefly loses their camo, or by capturing two aims and getting them again to base.
I am not saying that’s how Fox Hunt’s going to work, and Konami will little question dripfeed extra information as we get nearer to Delta’s launch, however it’s certainly one of MGO’s most memorable modes and appears a wise place for the brand new Metallic Gear multiplayer try to search out some inspiration.
“Fox Hunt is a very unique on-line multiplayer mode,” mentioned Sahara. “Though it shares the identical world with Metallic Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater, the gameplay is totally totally different.
“After we say Metallic Gear multiplayer, many followers will in all probability consider Metallic Gear On-line, however Fox Hunt might be its personal new sort of mode. We very a lot admire all of the long-time followers of MGO who’ve at all times needed to see it make a comeback, however the panorama of multiplayer video games has modified quite a bit since MGO. It took a variety of cautious consideration to consider what a brand new on-line mode ought to appear to be.”
Our passionate workforce of builders take us on an prolonged look into the creation of METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER and its bonus content material 🐍 ❗#KonamiPressStart pic.twitter.com/aIhW4HIAVMJune 12, 2025
Sahara says the problem was “to make one thing distinctive that’s greater than only a shootout” and, y’know, I feel he is proper. I did love Metallic Gear On-line, and there are gamers who swear by it to today (particularly the MGS4 model, MGO2). However not one of the MGO modes saved a excessive playercount for particularly lengthy, and even in modes like workforce sneaking it felt like a variety of gamers simply needed to play deathmatch with a little bit of fancy camo.
I do not assume anybody would have been shocked if Konami had rotated and mentioned Delta was going to be singleplayer-only as a result of, even when it did say “screw it” and remake Metallic Gear On-line in full, I simply do not assume it could make sufficient of an influence to stay a going concern. One thing like Fox Hunt feels prefer it’s making an attempt to isolate what actually labored in MGO up to now, and what Delta can provide when it comes to “a web-based expertise distinctive to Metallic Gear” (Sahara’s phrases).
Konami additionally talked about Delta extra broadly, displaying off some footage of the Ape Escape / Bomberman crossover mode, clarifying that the boss battles will really feel acquainted however function up to date AI and animations, and mentioning unspecified rebalancing elsewhere within the recreation.
The Secret Theatre additionally returns: this was initially an in-joke amongst Metallic Gear workers, the place they made foolish alternate endings and spoof movies starring the sport’s characters to amuse each other throughout manufacturing. By no means one to overlook a chance, Hideo Kojima noticed these and initially put them up on the MGS3 web site, earlier than incorporating them in MGS3: Subsistence.
Delta will function all the unique Secret Theatre movies as in-game collectibles, in addition to new movies which might be carried by enemy troopers. Presumably, as is Metallic Gear custom, you must discover these by holding troopers up or interrogating them.
Metallic Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater is getting nearer: it launches on PC on August 28, 2025. My preliminary concern with this remake was that, despite the fact that the originalis among the best video games ever made, hewing too near the PS2 unique may make it really feel tooarchaic or protected—the identical drawback I had with the Resident Evil 4 Remake. There are Metallic Gear followers getting irrationally offended about Fox Hunt, primarily as a result of it isn’t Metallic Gear On-line, however I am really impressed Konami goes to attempt one thing new right here, when it might have simply simply caught with remaking the marketing campaign. I doubt Fox Hunt goes to take over the world, however as a distillation of what was so nice in regards to the MGO video games, it is a minimum of going to supply one thing totally different.