According to a recent interview with the game's music producer, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima did not want his action title to become a massive franchise. Released back in 1987, Metal Gear is considered to be one of the first games in the now-popular stealth game genre. The long-running franchise's last major installment was 2015's Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, with Kojima and publisher Konami separating shortly before release.

Kojima's series is known for its revolutionary stealth gameplay, intense boss fights and frequent uniquely-Metal-Gear-Solid plot twists. The first two games, Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, are two-dimensional titles limited by the technology of the MSX computer consoles. 1998's Metal Gear Solid introduced three-dimensional level design to the series, which complemented in-depth stealth mechanic. Metal Gear Solid 2 perfected the tactical espionage gameplay while delivering an intense narrative, with the action-packed spy thriller Metal Gear Solid 3 following after. While Metal Gear Solid 4 seemingly brought the entire franchise to a definitive conclusion, further titles such as Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Metal Gear Solid V served as flashback stories. Since Kojima's departure from Konami, the series has been reduced to a Konami-branded pachinko slot machine, with 2018 zombie survival title Metal Gear Survive being the publisher's only new franchise title without Kojima.

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In an interview with Game DeveloperMetal Gear Solid 2 music producer Rika Muranaka revealed the series was never meant to continue on for so long. While Kojima created the Metal Gear series and continued to work on it for almost three decades, he never wanted to create a massive franchise on the scale of Final Fantasy. During Muranaka's interview with Game Developer, she explained that Kojima's artistic creativity drove him to pursue brand-new and original gaming projects. However, the financial success of Metal Gear motivated Konami to keep pushing the series ahead, locking the developer in until his departure from the publisher.

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While Kojima no longer works on Metal Gear, the industry figure is finding success with other titles. 2019's Death Stranding was Kojima's first game since his split with Konami, and the unusual adventure game was well-received for its original story and unique gameplay. An updated rerelease titled Death Stranding Director's Cut will launch on September 24, with Kojima returning to add even more content to the post-apocalyptic postman simulator. Many rumors surround the auteur's next project, and he himself has expressed unique ideas such as a Kojima game that changes in real time based on whoever's playing it.

Hideo Kojima's reluctance to drag on the Metal Gear series is even clearer with Muranaka's comments, corroborated by the fact that many of its installments have fairly definitive endings. Now that he is free to create whatever games he desires with his own studio, Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima can have the creative power to make - or not to make - his games a long-running series.

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Source: Game Developer