Metal Gear Solid 5 is not an open-world journey

Talking with Famitsu, Hideo Kojima stated that the term open-world has manifested negatively and has "taken on a life of its own and caused misunderstandings," in connection with Metal Gear Solid 5.


“The game map is an open world and you have freedom in that way, but in MGS5, it’s clear what you’re doing,” stated Kojima to Famitsu via Polygon. “That may be ‘I have to help someone’ or ‘Destroy this thing’ or ‘Go gather intelligence at this spot’. Time limits will also play a role as a mechanic in some missions.

“With MGS up to now, we could only build the interior of wherever you were infiltrating. How you got there was shown in a cutscene, and the player would just suddenly be in front of the entrance. Once you finished the mission, there’d be another cutscene, a helicopter or whatever would come by, and you’d escape.

“It’s not that linear games are bad [...] but really, it’d be fun if you were the one thinking about how and where to infiltrate, what sort of equipment to bring, and how to get out of there. I think the way that MGS is combined with an open world here is something that we haven’t really communicated very well yet.

“In particular, with this game, we’re building the control system and working the visual expressions for a global market to meet the needs of the North American market; that may have an impact on things too. But once you try it out, you should be able to feel like ‘Yes, this is MGS.’
“I feel that games are interactive media, and the rush comes in being able to use what you’re given freely to play. Open worlds create that for you, and I think the future of gaming lies in them.”

MGS 5 is set to release on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.