Metal Gear Solid Games Still Not Available Due to “Historical Archive Footage Licenses”
There are a lot of talks these days about videogame preservation. Games can disappear from digital storefronts or shops, making them very difficult to play in the worst cases. Although there are fewer legal options than the ones available, many people still love the official options.
Therefore, it was quite concerning that Konami announced in November 2013 that some Metal Gear Solid gaming titles were being removed from all digital stores, though only temporarily. Well, supposedly, anyway. It’s been five years since they disappeared, but there’s still no word on when they will return.
It’s not clear why they were taken out in the first instance. The games were licensed footage from historical archives, and the licenses expired after all these years. Oops. Oops. Konami stated that they were working to make the games again available, but it seems like it is taking quite a while.
Konami released a statement in November saying that they were grateful for your support of the METAL GEAR series. “We are currently renewing licenses for selected historical archive footage used within-game. Therefore, we have decided to suspend the sale of Metal Gear Solid 2 temporarily and Metal Gear Solid 3, as well as all products that include these games, from digital storefronts worldwide starting November 8th 2021.
We appreciate your understanding and patience as we continue to make these products available again for purchase. We appreciate your support for the Metal Gear series.
As Konami stated, initially, it appeared that the solution would be simple as renewing licenses. However, with so much time passing, it may be that the games have to be re-released again without the footage, whatever that might be. They’re returning at the right time, as the expanded PlayStation Plus library will be released in June.
