Konami reveals that the first gameplay footage of the controversial co-op Metal Gear Solid spinoff Metal Gear Survive will debut this weekend at Tokyo Game Show.

To the surprise of many, the next Metal Gear game was announced at last month's Gamescom event. Fans were already skeptical of Konami's ability to deliver a quality Metal Gear experience without series creator Hideo Kojima at the helm, and after they saw the Metal Gear Survive cinematic trailer, that skepticism seemed justified. However, no one has seen actual gameplay for it yet, so fans may want to withhold judgment until this weekend, when the first gameplay footage of Metal Gear Survive will debut.

Konami is unveiling Metal Gear Survive's first gameplay footage at Tokyo Game Show 2016. The footage will be on display at TGS itself, but Konami will also be broadcasting it as a livestream on its YouTube channel for the world to see. The livestream will show off the gameplay of Metal Gear Survive for the first time, and it is also expected to reveal fresh details about the game in general. Those interested in seeing the world premiere of Metal Gear Survive's gameplay can tune in to Konami's official YouTube channel on Saturday, September 17th at 12:15am Pacific time.

Anyone that wasn't turned off by Metal Gear Survive's nature as a 4-player co-op zombie game may want to consider staying up late to watch the livestream. Even though Hideo Kojima has left Konami, much of the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain development team remained, and Konami has announced that those developers are the ones working on Metal Gear Survive. Considering the rave reviews The Phantom Pain received last year, it's not unreasonable to believe that its development team could craft Metal Gear Survive into a compelling experience for franchise fans.

Even so, the game was met with significant criticism after its reveal. In fact, it wasn't long after Metal Gear Survive was announced that Konami had to clarify that it would be sold at a budget price, and the company's USA community manager even took to Twitter to personally ask fans to keep an open mind about the franchise's controversial new direction.

It's fair to say that when Konami said it would make more Metal Gear games, fans were expecting traditional entries in the series, not a co-op zombie game set in an alternate timeline. It's possible that fans simply aren't giving Metal Gear Survive a fair shake, but Konami also has yet to give them any real reason to be excited for the spinoff. That could change when Metal Gear Survive's first gameplay footage debuts at the Tokyo Game Show this weekend, but it will have to be an especially impressive presentation if Konami hopes to win back fans.

Metal Gear Survive will be available in 2017 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: IGN