It's been nine years since Snake appeared drenched by the rain in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. To mark the anniversary, director Hideo Kojima opened up about the game, saying the prologue chapter to The Phantom Pain was originally meant to be the beginning of an episodic series.

　　Kojima expressed on Twitter that he wanted to try something new with Ground Zeroes as developmental cycles grew longer for games. "In fact, it was my big intention to launch [Ground Zeroes]. The development of a full game takes for 4-5 [years]," he wrote. "Times change during production.

　　"So I thought of offering an episodic format, like a streamed drama, where one episode is produced and distributed. GZ was meant to be an experiment."

　　In fact, it was my big intention to launch GZ. The development of a full game takes for 4-5 yrs. Times change during production. So I thought of offering an episodic format, like a streamed drama, where one episode is produced and distributed. GZ was meant to be an experiment. https://t.co/EeyJAs2HCR

　　— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 20, 2023

　　He followed that up by saying expectations of players didn't align with his intentions. They thought Ground Zeroes would be a full game, per Kojima on Twitter. As such, he says the episodic delivery "was felt to be too early."

　　As for the future, Kojima has partnered with Xbox Game Studios for a title that will utilize Microsoft's cloud gaming technology. At the same time, Death Stranding 2 has been officially announced, and it's being worked on alongside the Xbox project, according to Kojima.

　　For more, be sure to check out GameSpot's Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes review.

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