As many fans of Hideo Kojima's long-running franchise expected, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has delivered on multiple levels when it comes to gameplay. Whether it's Metal Gear Solid 5's signature stealth component, the top-notch gunplay, the in-depth story, or even the new Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, it's obvious that Kojima-san made sure each detail was practically impeccable before the game's release. In fact, many people are considering The Phantom Pain to be the director's masterpiece, as reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.

Although Kojima has discussed leaving the franchise behind, he can at least rest easy knowing that the last installment in the Metal Gear series that he had a hand in making is not only a critical success, but also a financial boffo. According to the sales monitoring company GfK Chart-Track, The Phantom Pain is the most lucrative in the series to date, edging out the opening week of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty by just under 37%.

Taking the figures from the charts into account, the majority of fans are playing Metal Gear Solid 5 on the PlayStation 4, with 72% of the game's sales going to Sony's current system, and 22% being represented by the Xbox One. Perhaps this is the case due to reports declaring the title to be better looking on the PS4 And as most people would expect, last-gen consoles are being left behind, as 3% of purchases were on PS3, and 2% were on Xbox 360. However, numbers for the PC's sales have not been accounted for as of writing.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is the biggest selling game of the year. For instance, Batman: Arkham Knight has been on the market for quite some time, and was the second top-selling game of July 2015, so it's evident that the Caped Crusader's release would have accrued more than MGS 5, since the latter has only had a week's worth of availability. However, Kojima Productions' title did earn enough to put it at 3rd place in terms of first week sales in 2015 behind Arkham Knight and Witcher 3.

Plus, it isn't to say that the game starring Big Boss can't come from behind to become 2015's top dog. The holidays are just around the corner, and if the price gets reduced on The Phantom Pain's PS4 bundle, Kojima's game could get a huge boost in sales, especially considering the fact that most fans are experiencing it on Sony's platform.

At any rate, with Metal Gear Solid 5 refining what made the series so great in the first place, and by adding fresh mechanics, the game is sure to go down as one of the most memorable in the entire franchise. Not to mention, fans will surely be exploring the setting of the most recent tactical espionage title for years to come in order to keep finding surprises like the P.T. Easter egg, or the one that celebrates players' birthdays with a Diamond Dog cake.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is available now for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Source: GfK Chart-Track (via GamesRadar)