Although Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 have been temporarily removed from sale for nearly nine months, Konami took a moment on the series’ 35th anniversary today to provide a brief update. The @metalgear_jp twitter account tweeted that work is still ongoing and that the titles delisted last November will return to sale… sometime. A little more detail would’ve been nice but hopefully we don’t have much longer to wait for their return.
The “METAL GEAR” series released on July 13, 1987 celebrated its 35th anniversary today. We are preparing to resume sales of titles that have been temporarily suspended. #METALGEAR #MG35th
Metal Gear Japan Tweet
To recap, the licensing of “historical footage” used in Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 had expired in late 2021. While Konami worked to renew the licensing the following titles were removed from sale on digital stores and have remained unavailable since:
- PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
- PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
- PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION
- PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
- PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
- PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
- PlayStation™Now METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
- Xbox 360 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION: 2 & 3
- Nintendo 3DS METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D
- GOG.com METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SUBSTANCE
- NVIDIA® SHIELD™ METAL GEAR SOLID 2 HD for SHIELD TV
- NVIDIA® SHIELD™ METAL GEAR SOLID 3 HD for SHIELD TV
It’ll be interesting to see if the relisted versions feature different footage or other changes due to the expired licensing. We’re also intrigued to see if the games actually return on PlayStation 3 and Vita since Sony ended new releases on those platforms in 2021. Similarly, since the delistings Nintendo has announced plans to close the eShop for the Nintendo 3DS.
Thanks to everybody who pointed out the news today.