The online game trade has its share of far fetched rumors, whether or not it’s the remasters of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker for Nintendo Change or the long-fabled Bloodborne remaster. Upon listening to of remakes for Steel Gear Stable, which ultimately was narrowed right down to a Steel Gear Stable 3: Snake Eater remake, there was much more cynicism than traditional. That Konami sanctioning a remake? It was not possible, particularly after all the pieces that had transpired over time.
There have been extra rumors of Sony’s involvement, which made it extra possible, however positive sufficient, the writer revealed that Steel Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater was actual. Developed alongside Virtuos for Xbox Collection X/S, PS5 and PC, the remake is a “devoted recreation” with “developed gameplay.” Whereas Kojima and even artist Yoji Shinkawa (who can be at Kojima Productions) aren’t concerned, numerous builders who had been “concerned within the manufacturing of the previous [games in the] Steel Gear sequence” are taking part in a “central function” in improvement, per feedback to IGN.
Sure, it’s reusing voiceovers from the unique recreation as a substitute of freshly recording strains. There’s no launch date, however the present in-game screenshots look good. To additional assist with the wait, Konami can be re-releasing the primary titles within the sequence as a part of Steel Gear Stable: Grasp Assortment Vol. 1. Not solely does it embody the VR missions for Steel Gear Stable 1, however Steel Gear Stable 2: Sons of Liberty and Steel Gear Stable 3: Snake Eater are each truly from the HD Assortment.
Which means extra content material, high quality of life enhancements and superior visuals to their authentic releases. You even get Steel Gear 1 and Steel Gear 2: Stable Snake as a bonus. The writer additionally seemingly hinted at extra traditional releases if the Vol. 1 naming wasn’t indicative sufficient).
Remakes for different titles? Konami will “hearken to participant demand and think about accordingly,” which might be a pleasant means of claiming that if Delta: Snake Eater does effectively, we may see different remakes. Nonetheless, simply the actual fact they’re ready for the query is fascinating.
For these successfully offline since 2016, you’re in all probability questioning: What is that this Konami? Why is it all of a sudden pushing so arduous for Steel Gear Stable, particularly given the way it mistreated creator Hideo Kojima apart earlier than and after the discharge of Steel Gear Stable 5: The Phantom Ache?
Nobody is aware of. For a number of years, Konami distanced itself from its main franchises and triple-A gaming usually. Kojima’s fallout with Konami main as much as the discharge of Steel Gear Stable 5: The Phantom Ache is well-documented.
If that wasn’t sufficient, it additionally launched Steel Gear Survive, a spin-off to Steel Gear Stable 5, which featured survival crafting mechanics, zombies and co-op. It was a flop, critically and commercially, and additional cemented the corporate as out of contact with its fan base.
Nonetheless, because the years handed, Konami slowly started inching its means again to core gaming. It launched new titles within the Bomberman franchise, which had been first rate (even the free-to-play spin-off Tremendous Bomberman R On-line shut down final yr). The Momotaro Dentetsu sequence, lengthy considered over after Konami fired a number of Hudson Delicate builders, made a comeback in 2020 with Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa Mo Teiban! for the Nintendo Change, promoting 3.5 million items in Japan alone.
Then there was the Silent Hill announcement, with a number of tasks, from a Silent Hill 2 Remake by Bloober Staff to a model new title by NeoBards Leisure, with Higurashi and Umineko author Ryukishi07 in cost. You even have Silent Hill: Townfall by Annapurna and No Code, which is able to kickstart an anthology sequence or Silent Hill: Ascension, the interactive streaming sequence with viewers figuring out how the story unfolds.
Given what number of rumors surrounded Silent Hill’s revival over time, Konami in all probability made plans early. The pandemic in all probability didn’t assist, particularly given the variety of exterior builders it’s working with. It’s thus additionally attainable {that a} Steel Gear Stable remake and re-release of traditional titles had been deliberate for some time.
Why Konami would do all this will boil right down to different exterior components. For Silent Hill, it could have merely seen the demand, given the cancellation of Silent Hills and removing of P.T., and slowly deliberate to deliver it again. With the success of titles like Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 3 Remake, to not point out all the opposite remakes which have come since, it determined that it may make some first rate financial institution with a Silent Hill 2 Remake, and subsequently, Steel Gear Stable Delta: Snake Eater.
For the Steel Gear Stable: Grasp Assortment, the identical logic follows – numerous remasters and collections, together with these from Konami, have seen a good response. Why not launch titles from arguably its most well-known franchise and make some revenue?
Its partnership with exterior builders, like Virtuos for Delta Snake Eater, is all of the extra important because the writer can keep in depth management. It didn’t fairly have that with Kojima, whose exorbitant improvement prices for The Phantom Ache are rumored to have brought on tensions within the first place.
From a enterprise perspective, the writer’s strikes make sense. Nonetheless, the actual query is: Does Konami deserve a second likelihood with Steel Gear Stable?
Bear in mind: The corporate didn’t simply fireplace Kojima – it remoted him from his workforce, then barred him from showing at The Recreation Awards. Some have additionally theorized that their rush to get Steel Gear Stable 5: The Phantom Ache resulted in a number of components, like Episode 51, being reduce from the sport or repackaged as cutscenes.
Additionally, when Kojima responded to Steel Gear Survive, saying that he didn’t assume zombies outlined Steel Gear, Konami reportedly brought on hassle behind the scenes. It allegedly barred former Konami turned Kojima Productions workers from looking for medical health insurance by means of some shifty dealings.
That doesn’t embody alleged poor working situations for builders, from lengthy hours and crunch to fixed surveillance. It might even demote builders to cleansing jobs and safety guards in the event that they didn’t carry out effectively sufficient. We may sit right here and speak about how annoying it was to see the Steel Gear Stable 3: Snake Eater renders used for Pachinko, and make no mistake, it sucked for long-time followers. Nonetheless, Konami as an organization is questionable at greatest, and morally bankrupt at worst (allegedly, in fact).
There are likely builders on the firm who wish to make Delta: Snake Eater (and different tasks, like Silent Hill) work. They’ve in all probability been making an attempt for even longer than has even been rumored. Nonetheless, all of it goes again to administration, who’ve confirmed untrustworthy over time. One second we may see a revival of the Steel Gear franchise as we all know it, and the following, it may focus solely on NFTs (which it already has a platform for). On the finish of all of it, it’s the builders and followers that suffer.
Regardless, for the foreseeable future, Steel Gear Stable is again. How lengthy is the million-dollar query, and hopefully, Konami gained’t put it on their long-running tab.
Be aware: The views expressed on this article are these of the writer and don’t essentially signify the views of, and shouldn’t be attributed to, GamingBolt as a company.
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