Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Konami says ‘Metal Gear Solid V’ nuclear event was triggered by mistake

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Nuclear Disarmament
Former Konami game director Hideo Kojima doesn’t like nuclear weapons. His entire
Recommended Videos
Metal Gear Solid series largely centered on the concept of nuclear war and the dangers of nations proliferating weapons, and in Metal Gear Solid V, Kojima Productions even included a secret cutscene only available after destroying all nuclear weapons on a single gaming platform. That didn’t happen, but according to Konami, the event was unlocked by accident.

On Twitter, the official Metal Gear account said that on Friday, February 2, the Steam version of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain released the cinematic even though there were still nuclear weapons being wielded by its players.

“We will share more information as soon as possible, but you can play the game normally and other platforms have not been affected,” the page continued.

Though PC players would be the most likely to communicate and coordinate a decision of this scale, it would be almost impossible for something like this to happen on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.

The nuclear weapons are in the game as a form of deterrence against attacks from other players, creating a virtual version of the “mutually assured destruction” concept that is largely accepted in international politics today. It was also shared by the game’s main villain, Skull Face, who believed that the proliferation of nuclear weapons among all countries would effectively end war.

Kojima has made his opposition to nuclear weapons and missile defense shields clear in his work. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the Metal Gear RAY model was designed specifically to counter the nuclear-armed Metal Gear REX model, which could have rendered it all but useless and increased the chance of the RAY-enabled country launching an attack of its own. It’s a terrifying concept that the United States itself flirted with during the Reagan administration and its “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative program. The Trump administration has recently indicated it wishes to increase spending on missile defense once again.

If players are eventually able to agree to destroy their nuclear weapons and create a peaceful world in Metal Gear Solid V, it would represent a level of cooperation we have never seen in the real world. Until then, we will all likely keep stockpiling our missiles.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Delisted Metal Gear games are returning to digital storefronts
Characters wield guns in Metal Gear Solid 2.

It looks like Konami is going to relist some Metal Gear games onto digital storefronts again after having previously taken them down. The news comes by way of a tweet from the official Metal Gear Twitter account.

"The 'METAL GEAR' series released on July 13, 1987, celebrated its 35th anniversary today," the account tweeted. "We are preparing to resume sales of titles that have been temporarily suspended."

Read more
Is the Stardew Valley 1.6 update on consoles and mobile? Switch, PS5, Xbox, more
Stardew Valley

There are few cozy games as successful and beloved as Stardew Valley, so it's no wonder it has received regular updates since its 2016 release.

The 1.6 update for Stardew Valley was released back in March 2024 for PC, adding new festivals and events, NPC dialogues, farm types, more pets, and much more. Unfortunately, the update did not immediately release on consoles, leaving farmers playing on smartphones, Switch, Xbox or PlayStation waiting for all the new content.

Read more
How to open the Warden Vault in Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Inside the Warden Vault in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

If you thought the puzzles in Dragon Age: The Veilguard were too easy, you haven't tackled The Warden Vault quest yet. Available in the Rivain Coast, The Warden Vault is a side quest, one of many incredible side quests, that has you figure out how to open the locked door to the Warden's Vault underneath a huge castle.

This puzzle requires you to solve three separate puzzles within the castle, but they are far from obvious. Without the right guidance, Rook and the party can easily get lost throughout this castle and not know how to unlock the Warden's Vault in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, so here's how to solve it.
How to unlock The Warden Vault side quest

Read more