For many people, the idea that the Metal Gear series and its main man Solid Snake would be unknown to a generation of gamers would be laughable, but that’s exactly what Konami and the team working on the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta are afraid of.

In an interview in Play issue 46, series producer Noriaki Okamura was open about the fact that many younger gamers simply don’t know very much about Metal Gear. “One of the things that really sparked us to do the remake in general is because we realised that a lot of the newer, younger generation of gamers aren’t familiar with the Metal Gear series anymore”, he explains. 

For those of us who grew up with the franchise, it can be hard to imagine. But with the original Snake Eater having been released 20 years ago, and no new mainline games in the series since 2015, it’s perhaps not too much of a surprise that younger gamers aren’t too familiar with the franchise. 

For Okamura, MGS Delta isn’t only about allowing older players to experience a sense of nostalgia, but to ensure that the legacy of the series continues to impact future gamers. “It was basically our mission, our duty, to kind of continue making sure that the series lives on for future generations.” he explains. “After all, we leave behind much more than just DNA, as Solid Snake would say—but again, who is Solid Snake?”

This appeal to new players is part of the reason why Konami has decided to forego the numbering system in the titles in favour of the Greek letter delta. While perhaps a strange move on the face of it to begin remaking the series from the third entry, Okamura notes that it takes place first in the chronology of the series. “That’s where the original story started”,  he notes, making it the ideal place to begin remaking it. 

Check out what we made of Snake’s return to the past with our Metal Gear Solid Delta preview.