Metal Gear Survive devs leave a message for Kojima Productions

Being the first in the franchise without creator Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Survive was already in the firing line in the eyes of long term fans before it was discovered that the title would carry questionable microtransactions. In a bittersweet nod to the renowned predecessors, it seems that the development team behind Survive have left a secret message for the keen eyed.

The message is hidden within the game’s character creator, in which the player is shown a clipboard with their name on it alongside other soldiers. More notable of the bunch is Zero, a staple character of the franchise.

More interesting, however, is that Redditors have spotted that the first letter of each surname spells out “KJP Forever,” likely in reference to Kojima Productions, one of the core development teams for the Metal Gear series, headed by Hideo Kojima himself. The same can be seen again from the bottom upwards within another screenshot, slimming the chances of this being a coincidence.

Deepening the mystery, ‘Bastard Yota’ and ‘Cunning Yuji’ can be seen at the bottom of the list, perhaps in reference to Survive’s director, Yota Tsutsumizaki, and producer, Yuji Korekado. And interesting choice of prefixes for the two, if so.

Am I the only one who saw “KoJima Productions FOREVER?” using the first letter of the highlighted code names? @HEITAIs #MetalGearSurvive #MGSurvive pic.twitter.com/NrYGVmwm8J

— Michael Yurko (@NourishedPsyche) February 24, 2018

Kojima Productions shut its doors in July 2015 after Konami’s rather public dispute with Kojima came to a head and the director was booted from the studio at the end of his contract. This resulted in Konami stripping Kojima’s name from any Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain box art before shipping in September 2015. Fortunately, Kojima Productions has reformed as an independent game studio and is currently working with Sony on Death Stranding.

While bittersweet and not particularly the magnum opus that Kojima wanted his name attached to, it’s nice to see an aura of respect between the two teams. Konami is publicly steering clear of any further controversy with the director, but did include a nod to the previous team as whole under its “special thanks” credit instead.

KitGuru Says: I have yet to play Metal Gear Survive before judging it, but so far things have left me a little doubtful. This does entice me to take another look, but knowing that I would have to pay $10 simply for something that should be included in the game, like save slots, definitely makes me want to turn a blind eye. How do you feel about Metal Gear Survive?

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