Konami has announced that it has temporarily removed the sale of multiple versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 from sale on digital stores.
The temporary removal of the games is due to Konami needing to renew the licenses for some historical archive footage that is used in the games.
“We are currently working on renewing the licenses for select historical archive footage used in-game, therefore, we have made the temporary decision to begin suspending the sale of METAL GEAR SOLID 2, METAL GEAR SOLID 3 and all products that include these games from digital storefronts globally starting from November 8th, 2021,” explained a post on Konami’s website.
Being removed from sale are the following games:
- Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty HD Edition on PS3 and PS Vita
- Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater HD Edition on PS3 and PS Vita
- Metal Gear Solid HD Edition on PS3
- Metal Gear Solid HD Collection on PS Vita and PS Now
- Metal Gear Solid HD Edition: 2 & 3 on Xbox 360
- Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D on Nintendo 3DS
- Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance on GOG.com
- Metal Gear Solid 2 HD for SHIELD TV on Nvidia Shield
- Metal Gear Solid 3 HD for SHIELD TV on Nvidia Shield
“We sincerely ask for your patience and understanding as we work towards making these products available for purchase once again,” concluded the post. No timeframe or end date was given for when the games can be expected to return for sale.
In other recent-ish Metal Gear news, the servers for Metal Gear Solid 5 are being taken offline for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. DLC will no longer be available from November 30, and full shutdown will happen next year.
With Konami not publicly working on a Metal Gear Solid game, jumping into the old games is currently the only way to get some Solid Snake stealth action. A studio is rumoured to be remaking MGS 3, though.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.