Metal Gear Solid fans have had little to celebrate over the last few years due to the franchise's dormancy. While rumors swirl about a possible Metal Gear Solid Remake, one of the very few positive Metal Gear projects was an upcoming board game based on the PlayStation classic. Unfortunately, it seems like the tabletop adaptation is another piece of forthcoming Metal Gear media that has been snubbed out.
Website Dicebreaker reports that the Metal Gear Solid board game has been cancelled by publisher IDW. This comes as the end of the tabletop game's difficult production, which saw the Metal Gear based board game delayed from 2019 to 2020. With no substantial update throughout 2020, its cancellation comes with little surprise.
While IDW scrapped the project, there may still be a chance for the game to hit shelves. Emerson Matsuuchi, the creator and designer of the Metal Gear Solid board game, has not given up on getting it released. Matsuuchi has found a possible solution for getting the game back in production following IDW's cancellation. Posting on the BoardGameGeek forum, Matsuuchi offered details on his previous attempts to keep the project going and future possibilities.
In the post, which also confirmed the game's cancellation in December 2020, Matsuuchi admitted that they offered to provide funds for the last leg of the project. Matsuuchi even offered to "buy out IDW's interest in the project along with purchasing all assets." According to Matsuuchi, the deal ultimately fell apart which led to the cancellation of the Metal Gear Solid board game.
In terms of moving forward, Matsuuchi provided Metal Gear Solid fans a bit of hope that the board game adaptation may be released in the future. Matsuuchi is currently working with Nazca Games to acquire the rights to the Metal Gear license from publisher Konami. While Matsuuchi was eager to share this glimmer of hope, the designer was frank is acknowledging that there are "no guarantees" in the project ever hitting shelves.
With this recent cancellation being another knock for Metal Gear Solid fans yearning for the franchise to make a big return, there is still reason for fans to have hope. The Metal Gear Solid film seems to finally be making progress after years of stop-and-start productions. With the recent casting of Oscar Isaac as Solid Snake, fans have a renewed hope that it may be the right moment for a triumphant return of the stealth hero to video games. As many still clamor for the Bluepoint remake, Metal Gear Solid may be making a big comeback across mediums.
Source: Dicebreaker (via Kotaku)