# Metal Gear Solid (メタルギアソリッド) (1998 video game)
**Metal Gear Solid** (メタルギアソリッド) is a 1998 stealth action-adventure game developed and published by Konami for the [PlayStation](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation), directed, written, and designed by [Hideo Kojima](https://www.edgepedia.org/hideo-kojima) with character and mech design by Yoji Shinkawa.[1](https://videogamescritic.com/game/metal-gear-solid-1000007185) • [2](https://shmuplations.com/metalgearsolid/) It is the third game in the [Metal Gear](https://www.edgepedia.org/metal-gear) series and the first to use real-time full polygon graphics, translating the series' 2D infiltration gameplay into full 3D.[3](https://www.konami.com/mg/archive/mgs/about_mgs/index.html) • [4](https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0101-PPSA14363_00-METALGEARSOLID01/) Konami's own archive calls it a landmark title that shocked and was acclaimed worldwide.[3](https://www.konami.com/mg/archive/mgs/about_mgs/index.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 1998 on PlayStation; released in Europe on 26 February 1999[4](https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0101-PPSA14363_00-METALGEARSOLID01/) • [5](https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/products/mgs/) |
| Series position | Third Metal Gear game; the first with real-time full polygons and full 3D[3](https://www.konami.com/mg/archive/mgs/about_mgs/index.html) |
| Key staff | Director/producer/writer Hideo Kojima; designer/artist Yoji Shinkawa[2](https://shmuplations.com/metalgearsolid/) |
| Setting | Shadow Moses, an Alaskan island housing the secret weapons complex and the Metal Gear Rex[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) |
| Signature mechanics | Alert mode disables the radar when Snake is spotted; varied camera modes support the infiltration mission[7](https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Sony_Playstation/manual/Formated/Metal_Gear_Solid_-_1998_-_Konami.pdf) |
| Notable extras | Psycho Mantis reads the Memory Card; a puzzle solved by checking the back of the game case[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) |
| Expanded editions | Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (1999; Special Missions in PAL regions) and Metal Gear Solid: Integral in Japan[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) |
## Development
Kojima conceived the game while working on script-based titles such as [Policenauts](https://www.edgepedia.org/policenauts), after hearing of a console on which polygons could be generated in real time. Since Metal Gear is fundamentally a hide-and-seek game, the appeal for him was staging that hiding and seeking in 3D with a camera that could change position.[8](https://blog.playstation.com/2012/07/23/hideo-kojima-reflects-on-25-years-of-metal-gear/) His development on Metal Gear Solid coincided with the medium's broader technological shift from 2D graphics and gameplay to the third dimension.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/may/24/hideo-kojima-interview-part-2)
**Kojima's limited control.** Although credited as director and producer on the game's staff roll, Kojima has said he was technically a designer on the project with no say over its budget, release date, or promotion, which he describes as a bitter memory; at [Kojima Productions](https://www.edgepedia.org/kojima-productions), by contrast, he held budget and hiring control.[8](https://blog.playstation.com/2012/07/23/hideo-kojima-reflects-on-25-years-of-metal-gear/)
**Shinkawa's designs.** Yoji Shinkawa, who joined Konami in 1994, designed the Metal Gear Rex mech. Kojima asked for a machine that would look like a living creature when piloted but like an ordinary vehicle when idle, modeled loosely on the Tyrannosaurus Rex rather than an outer-space robot; Shinkawa built a physical reference model over about a month and a half at home, and the CG modeling used it as reference.[2](https://shmuplations.com/metalgearsolid/) Several memorable characters grew out of Shinkawa's improvisation rather than the original plan: the cyborg ninja was never in Kojima's design documents, [Psycho Mantis](https://www.edgepedia.org/psycho-mantis) received his gas mask from Shinkawa, and the Otacon character began as an anime-convention-attending engineer.[2](https://shmuplations.com/metalgearsolid/) Kojima noted that the action focus forced visual compromises, such as reduced textures and color counts, so the characters could move quickly.[2](https://shmuplations.com/metalgearsolid/)
## Gameplay and presentation
The game is built on infiltration: players avoid detection rather than fight through, and when an enemy discovers Snake the game enters Alert Mode, during which the radar becomes unusable.[7](https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Sony_Playstation/manual/Formated/Metal_Gear_Solid_-_1998_-_Konami.pdf) Multiple camera modes were used to create the feeling of participating in a tense infiltration mission.[7](https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Sony_Playstation/manual/Formated/Metal_Gear_Solid_-_1998_-_Konami.pdf)
The PlayStation's 3D capability and CD storage let the game expand the original 8-bit gameplay substantially and tell its story through robust voice acting and cinematic presentation methods that had been impossible a decade earlier.[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) Konami's product page describes it as pioneering 3D stealth action, using live-action footage and cinematic cut scenes interwoven with the gameplay.[4](https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0101-PPSA14363_00-METALGEARSOLID01/)
## Story and characters
[Solid Snake](https://www.edgepedia.org/solid-snake), the Foxhound agent introduced in the original Metal Gear (1987), is summoned to Shadow Moses, an Alaskan island seized by [Liquid Snake](https://www.edgepedia.org/liquid-snake) and his crew, who operate from a secretive weapons complex built around the advanced weapon Metal Gear Rex.[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) With the help of Rex's designer Otacon, Snake stealthily infiltrates the complex facing his former Foxhound teammates, with the fate of the world at stake.[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) Kojima described the story as a serious, heavy one with hardboiled characters whose clothing signals who they are, and he deliberately avoided glamorous, visually gratuitous designs.[2](https://shmuplations.com/metalgearsolid/)
The game is remembered for fourth-wall breaking moments: Psycho Mantis examines the player's Memory Card to comment on other games they have played, and the player must solve a puzzle by looking at the back of the game's physical case.[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) In an interview, Kojima rejected a simple one-man-army action framing, saying the narrative offers more layers of complexity than a Rambo or Bond movie.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/may/24/hideo-kojima-interview-part-2)
## Reception and influence
For many players the 1998 game was their introduction to the Metal Gear series, and it made them fans for life; PlayStation Blog calls it one of the most beloved and influential games of all time.[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) Kojima has said the game sold well throughout the world and was a great success, and that the series reached its current level of popularity with the 1998 release.[8](https://blog.playstation.com/2012/07/23/hideo-kojima-reflects-on-25-years-of-metal-gear/) • [10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvXE17Zsg60) The game won an award at the 3rd CESA GAME AWARDS.[11](https://www.konami.com/mg/archive/mgs/introduction.html)
**Series scale.** A scholarly survey of the franchise records that the MGS series had sold over 49.2 million copies worldwide as of March 2016, standing as the best-selling stealth game series per Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2016.[12](https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/bitstream/200/9297/1/991022055758703411.pdf) By 2011 the franchise had generated lifetime sales of 27.9 million software units between 1998 and 2011.[13](https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/42310/bitstreams/127471/data.pdf) GamesRadar's retrospective ranks it among the best PS1 games and credits its simple but effective take on stealth with influencing many later games.[14](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-psx-games/)
## Re-releases and later versions
The game received an expanded Japanese edition, Metal Gear Solid: Integral, with extra VR missions and difficulty settings, and the standalone Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (1999), known as Special Missions in PAL regions.[6](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1) Nintendo's GameCube received a remake, The Twin Snakes, in 2004.[15](https://academic-journals.eu/pl/download?path=%2Fuploads%2FZm9sZGVycHVibWVkaWE%3D%2Fdocuments%2Ffn-1-11.pdf)
In 2023 Konami released METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 1 worldwide on [Nintendo Switch](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-switch), PlayStation 5, [PlayStation 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-4), Xbox Series X|S, and Steam, containing the original Metal Gear and [Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake](https://www.edgepedia.org/metal-gear-2-solid-snake), Metal Gear Solid (including VR Missions/Special Missions), and HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, each with a digital Screenplay Book and Master Book.[16](https://www.konami.com/games/us/en/topics/2294/) • [17](https://www.konami.com/games/ca/en/products/mgsmc/) Konami has also begun production of METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER, a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3.[16](https://www.konami.com/games/us/en/topics/2294/)
## References
1. [Metal Gear Solid review score, VideoGamesCritic](https://videogamescritic.com/game/metal-gear-solid-1000007185)
2. [Metal Gear Solid – 1998 Developer Interview, shmuplations.com](https://shmuplations.com/metalgearsolid/)
3. [ABOUT MGS, Konami archive](https://www.konami.com/mg/archive/mgs/about_mgs/index.html)
4. [METAL GEAR SOLID – Master Collection Version, PlayStation Store](https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0101-PPSA14363_00-METALGEARSOLID01/)
5. [Metal Gear Solid, Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.](https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/products/mgs/)
6. [Metal Gear Solid 25th Anniversary, PlayStation.Blog](https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/20/metal-gear-solid-25th-anniversary-the-evolution-of-the-iconic-stealth-action-series?sf269800935=1)
7. [Metal Gear Solid – Sony PlayStation Manual](https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Sony_Playstation/manual/Formated/Metal_Gear_Solid_-_1998_-_Konami.pdf)
8. [Hideo Kojima Reflects on 25 Years of Metal Gear, PlayStation.Blog](https://blog.playstation.com/2012/07/23/hideo-kojima-reflects-on-25-years-of-metal-gear/)
9. [Hideo Kojima: video game drop-out – interview part 2, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/may/24/hideo-kojima-interview-part-2)
10. [Hideo Kojima Interview, ACMI Collection (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvXE17Zsg60)
11. [METAL GEAR SOLID, Konami archive introduction](https://www.konami.com/mg/archive/mgs/introduction.html)
12. [Polymath thesis on the Metal Gear Solid series, PolyU](https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/bitstream/200/9297/1/991022055758703411.pdf)
13. [Dennis R. Redmond (2012), Ideals Illinois](https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/42310/bitstreams/127471/data.pdf)
14. [The 25 best PS1 games of all time, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/best-psx-games/)
15. [Academic journal article on Metal Gear Solid narrative](https://academic-journals.eu/pl/download?path=%2Fuploads%2FZm9sZGVycHVibWVkaWE%3D%2Fdocuments%2Ffn-1-11.pdf)
16. [METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 1 available now, Konami](https://www.konami.com/games/us/en/topics/2294/)
17. [METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1, Konami Canada](https://www.konami.com/games/ca/en/products/mgsmc/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Franchises and series › Action, horror, and shooter franchises › Metal Gear franchise*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license