Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 2 brings MGS4 to modern platforms

Konami's long-awaited Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 2 finally breaks MGS4's 15-year PlayStation 3 exclusivity. Launching August 27 across all platforms, it includes Peace Walker and Ghost Babel alongside Solid Snake's farewell adventure.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will finally be playable outside PlayStation 3 as part of Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 2, Konami announced during Thursday's State of Play. The collection releases August 27 on PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC, marking the end of MGS4's 15-year exclusivity to Sony's console.

What's included in Volume 2

The second Master Collection contains three games: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and 2000 Game Boy title Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel. Each game includes a scenario book containing text from the respective title, plus a master book offering detailed insights into the story and characters.

Players who own save data from any title in Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 will receive in-game items usable in MGS4 and Peace Walker, Konami said. The publisher also released a final update for the first collection on Thursday, adding HD visual options to MGS1 and MGS3.

The long wait for MGS4

"Metal Gear fans, thank you for your patience," said producer Noriaki Okamura, acknowledging the lengthy wait for MGS4's multi-platform release. Speaking to IGN in 2024, Okamura had hinted at the eventual announcement: "We definitely are aware of this situation with MGS4. Unfortunately, we can't really say too much at the moment with Vol 1 containing MGS 1-3 dot dot dot… you can probably connect the dots!"

Porting Metal Gear Solid 4 to other platforms was challenging due to PlayStation 3's unique Cell processor architecture and the game's large size — it shipped on Blu-ray discs that could hold up to 54GB, enormous for the pre-digital era. The technical hurdles kept the acclaimed stealth game locked to PS3 for over 15 years.

Series future remains uncertain

While celebrating Volume 2's announcement, Okamura remained cautious about the Metal Gear Solid series' long-term future. "Right now we still are internally concerned about what we should be doing for the future of the series," he told IGN. "So sorry, we can't really reveal anything at the moment. But stay tuned!"

The announcement comes as Konami continues working on Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, a remake of MGS3 that will launch without multiplayer features initially.

Frequently Asked Questions

What games are included in Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 2?

The collection includes Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel, plus digital scenario books and master books for each title.