Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game has been cancelled
Designer says they have been pursuing “a myriad of options to get the project going.”
Emerson Matsuuchi, the creator of Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, has confirmed that the title was cancelled last year.
In a post in a forum on BoardGameGeek, Matsuuchi stated that IDW Publishing - the studio that was initially responsible for releasing the game - chose to cease production on Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game in December 2020. Matsuuchi did not elaborate on the reasons behind the cancellation, simply stating that “the decision was made back in December to not move forward with the MGS Project.”
Since the cancellation of the video game board game, Matsuuchi has required the rights to the game’s design, but has not managed to obtain the licensing necessary to release a tabletop adaptation of Metal Gear Solid.
“I have offered to put in capital from my company to help fund the last leg of the project, and even to buy out IDW’s interest in the project along with purchasing all of the assets. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any traction with those options.” Matsuuchi explained.
Matsuuchi is “optimistic” about the situation, working with their publishing company - Nazca Games - to acquire the licensing to release Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game from video game publisher, Konami. However, Matsuuchi also emphasised that “there are no guarantees” that the board game will be released at all, but the designer is “working to keep this project alive” nonetheless.
The announcement of Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game’s cancellation follows a series of delays, with the title being initially pushed back from an early 2019 release date to summer 2020, before being delayed again until 2021.(Thanks Polygon.) In a statement from IDW, the studio highlighted the need for more time to implement a series of changes and finalise the game.
“Ultimately, the amount of time it took to implement these changes just grew longer than expected and our window to ship the game on time closed.” Said IDW.
Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game is a co-op game for one to four players based on the first entry in the video game franchise created by Hideo Kojima. During the board game, players work together as iconic characters Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Dr Hal ‘Otacon’ Emmerich and Gray Fox as they attempt to infiltrate a nuclear weapons facility and stop a gang of terrorists. Each character has their own unique skill set that players can use to complete the various missions within the game’s overarching campaign, with the option to approach objectives in a variety of ways.
Besides creating Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, Matsuuchi is also known for designing the Century series of games - which includes the original Century: Spice Road trilogy, as well as the revised Century: Golem Edition trilogy - alongside Specter Ops, a stealth co-op board game, and its spin-off title, Crossfire.
Matsuuchi has not confirmed a potential release date for Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, nor how the title will be completed. Dicebreaker has reached out to IDW for comment.