How 9/11 Impacted Metal Gear Solid 2

gamerant.com:

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, numerous films, TV shows, and video games that had been in development before the tragedy had to make last-minute changes or postpone their release. Notably, this includes changes made to the 2002 Spider-Man film, which removed the World Trade Center from promotional material and the movie. Another example is Grand Theft Auto 3, which was delayed so that changes could be made to the game map to make it look less like Manhattan. Considering this context, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a particularly interesting release from this time, as although some changes were needed, the game was released on schedule (November 2001) despite being about a terrorist attack in New York City.

While any resemblance between the plot of Metal Gear Solid 2 and the actual attack on 9/11 is coincidental, the game does explore numerous themes that rapidly increase in relevance in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. Both thematically and formally, the game has a preoccupation with data collection and vulnerabilities associated with big data, which became all the more relevant to a post-9/11 audience with growing fears around online surveillance and data theft/misuse. There are many factors that made Metal Gear Solid 2 so commercially and critically successful, but the increased thematic relevance post-9/11 helped solidify the game's iconic status.

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Early into development, a Middle East setting was considered for Metal Gear Solid 2, but was ultimately decided against due to the extremely tumultuous political situation in the Middle East. It is somewhat ironic that in trying to avoid a controversial setting, the game is set in the same city as one of the most significant