Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, the next game from Kojima Productions, will tackle many “taboos” and “mature themes,” according to Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima. So much so, that Kojima is unsure if he’ll even be able to release the game.
“Over the past 25 years, I have tried to work with the Metal Gear series to try and introduce more mature themes,” Kojima told Spong. “But really, it hasn’t happened yet, compared to movies or books. There’s still has a long way to go. That’s precisely what I want to try and tackle with my next project, Ground Zeroes. I’m going to be targeting a lot of taboos, a lot of mature themes, that really are quite risky. Honestly, I’m not even sure if i’ll be able to release the game!”
He added, “And even if I did release the game, maybe it wouldn’t sell, because [the themes would be] just too much. But as a creator, I want to take that risk. As a producer, it’s my job to try and sell the game. But I’m approaching this project from the point of view of a creator, where I’m prioritizing creativity over sales.”
Hopefully, that risk won’t lead into the following scenario, as described by Kojima.
“It’s very possible that some time in the future after Ground Zeroes is out, I may be called up by management who will say, ‘Kojima! What are you doing? Ground Zeroes isn’t selling! What have you done?’ And at that point I’ll [hopefully be able to] say, ‘Don’t worry! [Metal Gear] Rising is selling well!”