Metal Gear Survive Needs a Battle Royale Mode, Here’s Why

It’s no secret that fans are split on the upcoming Metal Gear Survive, a spinoff taking place after Ground Zeroes. The supernatural focus, the lack of Hideo Kojima, and the focus on multiplayer certainly have people on edge, and while I’m optimistic about the game, I can understand these concerns. As such, I took it upon myself to think up some ways that Metal Gear Survive could attract players who may be on the fence. And after witnessing the outstanding success of Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale, the way forward for Survive seemed clear: become a battle royale. But not just any battle royale; a fanservice-filled Metal Gear battle royale. Think Portable Ops Plus meets PUBG. To clarify, I don’t want this mode to replace anything in the existing game, but rather, I want battle royale to become a focus as the game grows over time.

Battle royales tend to encourage stealth and quick thinking, two pillars of the Metal Gear series. Boxes and barrels would be perfect disguises to catch players off-guard, while accessories like thermal goggles or the soliton radar could be found and used to get a leg up on enemies. If you want to distract enemies, you could play music from your cassette player like in Phantom Pain. Imagine hearing “Here’s to You” while hiding in a seemingly empty building, or while gathering resources. Or hey, imagine choosing a commentator to yell out your name when you die. You could have Otacon, Kaz, or Colonel Campbell give you a briefing before the match begins. There are enough unique Metal Gear-isms to make Survive stand out as its own battle royale

There are a ton of iconic Metal Gear locations that would work perfectly as maps, from Shadow Moses to Big Shell, or from Mother Base to Camp Omega. There’s no shortage of locales that Metal Gear Survive could take advantage of, and that’s only counting games from the main series. These areas are large and full of hiding spots, making them ideal for battle royales. But I think it would be best if Survive went outside the main series when collecting content to present players with.

Imagine being able to make your player look like anyone from Metal Gear. Everything from MGS1 to Portable Ops and Rising could be unlocked, making Survive a celebration of the entire franchise. The already existing throwback items (Bandana, Metal Gear head, etc.) are a great start, but we can go further. Throw in Snake’s PS1 face, or FROG equipment from MGS4, or even the chicken hat from Phantom Pain. Have iconic lines from the series serve as taunts. (“You’re pretty good”, “Kept you waiting”, “Fission Mailed”), or have “Encounter” play when only two players are left, the amount of fanservice that can be had is endless. There’s so much to take from the franchise that would show fans that Konami cares, so I really hope they take advantage of the wealth of content available to them.

In short, I think Metal Gear Survive is especially well-suited to become a battle royale. The core ideas of Metal Gear mix perfectly with this type of multiplayer, and there’s an endless amount of content from across the series to pull from. I think this could bring back a solid (sorry) amount of fans who may feel spurned by Metal Gear as well as fans of battle royales who may know very little about Metal Gear. While I can’t say whether or not this is even a possibility, I’ll stay optimistic until I can try the game out myself. Who knows, it may be pretty good.