Veteran Metal Gear Solid producer: “Given our age, it was now or never” for an MGS3 remake — “Because it’s such an incredible series, I decided now was the time”

Series veterans behind Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater — director Yuji Korekado and producer Noriaki Okamura — say they felt the weight of remaking the third entry for a new generation as many original team members grow older.

In an interview with Real Sound, translated by GamesRadar+, Korekado explains the challenge of making a game that appeals to modern players while still honoring the intent of original creator Hideo Kojima, who is no longer at Konami.

Korekado says the team was mindful of the franchise’s long history and varied fanbase. They wanted to bring the game to contemporary audiences while preserving the creator’s original concepts. At the same time, some aspects of the original design don’t translate well to today’s players, so the team made deliberate adaptations where necessary.

One of Delta’s most notable changes is the option to play with an over-the-shoulder camera in addition to the original fixed perspectives. Allowing players to choose between classic and modern controls was a conscious decision: the team balanced respect for the original with careful experimentation to keep the experience approachable.

Konami has kept details of Kojima’s departure largely private. It’s not entirely clear which developers left alongside him, though several familiar names from the Metal Gear era appear in the credits for Kojima Productions’ projects, such as longtime art director Yoji Shinkawa.

Okamura recalls that losing so many original staffers made it difficult to plan the series’ future. Conversations about new projects would start and stop, and with first-hand knowledge thinning as people moved on, the team decided the best chance to revive the series was to act while those who remembered it were still available.

Delta was built as a collaboration between franchise veterans and newer developers, hoping the fresh talent could absorb the series’ spirit and carry it forward. Korekado admits he was surprised by some gaps in the newcomers’ experience — for example, several told him they weren’t familiar with close-quarters combat techniques from the original. He also noted, with a laugh, that modern players don’t always listen to lengthy in-game transceiver briefings the way older players did.

Metal Gear Solid 4 remake would be “pretty difficult” says series veteran, admitting the team used “quite unique solutions” when developing the stealth game’s code