Change is hard, especially in the video game world. Every few years, there’s new technology that you have to plop down cash for, a cycle that’s sped up in the age of the perennially updated iPhone and iPad. Reboots come along and alter beloved series, sequels water down beloved characters. Sometimes it’s only the little things that change, but their impact can be felt deep by long time fans. Take the newly announced Metal Gear Solid V. Hideo Kojima’s signature stealth series is back after a five-year break, but as actor and writer David Hayter confirmed on Wednesday, the lead character of Snake just won’t sound the same.
Following the debut trailer of the game at GDC 2013, fans asking Hayter on Twitter if he was voicing the lead – as he’s done in every game since 1998’s Metal Gear Solid – were let down hard.
“Well look, at least I had a good run,” wrote Hayter. He also said that Konami didn’t even approach him about doing the part.
Snake wouldn’t be the first famous video game voice to change recently either. Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher recently parted ways with longtime voice actor Michael Ironside, wo was replaced with a younger actor capable of filming all the motion capture movements for the character. Hayter, who recently turned 44, may be replaced for similar reasons.
Before fanatics start smashing their Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance discs in protest, keep in mind that Hideo Kojima is a notorious prankster. He is, after all, the same designer that premiered Metal Gear Solid V months ago as a totally different game made by an imaginary game designer. Maybe Hayter is just in on the joke?
