MGS 5: Ground Zeroes Was Launched To Test An "Episodic Method" Says Hideo Kojima

thegamer.com:

Narrative heavy video games have to bear the burden of establishing the world and the circumstances for the events of the game coming into being. Of course, this is usually done within the game itself via cinematics or gameplay-driven storytelling, but some devs prefer an alternate avenue, such as a prequel comic, like in the case of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Hideo Kojima, however, has taken a different route, as he's characteristically known to do.

The acclaimed director has not once, but twice gone with a short game to build up anticipation for a major launch. Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is the more recent of the two. P.T. could be considered as the first one, but we're not going to open that can of worms right now. Ground Zeroes, which is nine years old as of two days ago, was launched as a sort of appetizer for MGS 5, and it did a brilliant job of it. However, the idea behind this launch was based on something bigger.

RELATED: Ground Zeroes Wasn't Just A Glorified Demo, It's One Of The Best Metal Gear Solid Games Ever Made

"Actually, I had a big intention for the release of GZ," explains Kojima in a very recent Tweet. "The development of a full game takes an enormous amount of time, four to five years. Times change during production. Therefore, we thought of providing an episodic method like a stream drama. Produce one episode and distribute it. Distribute episodes 2 and 3 while giving feedback. GZ was also meant for that experiment."

Of course, Kojima is known to post the randomest things – like this Instagram Reel of himself kidding around with a voice-activated Optimus Prime toy – but this Tweet has some context. It's a Retweet of an earlier post he made commemorating nine years of Ground