The Art of Metal Gear Solid V: North American Release Date and Details Revealed

An Amazon product listing for The Art of Metal Gear Solid V revealed its North American release date and publisher. The hardcover book was scheduled to be released by Dark Horse Books on November 15, 2016. The listing provided key details about the collection, which promised to chronicle the development of a game that was both a critical success and the subject of significant controversy.

A Chronicle of a Troubled Masterpiece

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released in September 2015 to widespread acclaim for its gameplay mechanics and visual presentation. However, its launch was overshadowed by the very public and acrimonious split between series creator Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami. This conflict reportedly led to a rushed final act, with players discovering evidence of a cut final mission, “Episode 51: Kingdom of the Flies,” left on the game disc. The game’s story concluded abruptly, leaving many narrative threads unresolved.

An art book dedicated to the game’s development holds particular interest for fans. The promise of “chronicling the development of Kojima Productions’s magnum opus” suggests the book could offer insights into the original vision for the game. Collectors and series enthusiasts would be looking for concept art and design notes related to cut content or characters whose roles were diminished in the final product. The book serves as a potential window into what The Phantom Pain was intended to be before its development was curtailed.

Visual Design and the Fox Engine

The Metal Gear Solid series has always been defined by its distinct artistic direction, primarily shaped by artist Yoji Shinkawa. His ink-wash, brushstroke style gives the characters and machinery a unique aesthetic that blends military realism with sci-fi expressionism. Metal Gear Solid V was the first game in the series built on the proprietary Fox Engine, a powerful toolset that allowed for photorealistic environments and incredibly detailed character models. The contrast between the realistic graphical fidelity and Shinkawa’s stylized designs was a hallmark of the game’s presentation.

The Art of Metal Gear Solid V was positioned to showcase this visual journey. The book’s contents would presumably cover the evolution of character designs for Venom Snake, Quiet, and the Skulls Unit, along with the intricate mechanical designs of the various Metal Gear units and support vehicles like the D-Walker. It would also provide a look at the creation of the game’s expansive open worlds in Afghanistan and the Angola-Zaire border region. For many, the art is as integral to the Metal Gear experience as its complex story and stealth gameplay.

Publication Details and Contents

The publisher for the North American release is Dark Horse Books, a company with a strong reputation for producing high-quality video game art books and comics. The Amazon listing specified the hardcover book would contain 184 pages and feature “hundreds of pieces of never-before-seen art.” The assigned ISBNs were 1506701108 (ISBN-10) and 978-1506701103 (ISBN-13).

The official product description from the listing stated:

“Witness the concept and design behind the genre-defining science fiction military action and drama with The Art of Metal Gear Solid V! Chronicling the development of Kojima Productions’s magnum opus, and featuring hundreds of pieces of never-before-seen art, this beautifully assembled volume is an essential addition to any gamer’s collection. Dark Horse is proud to offer a piece of gaming history with The Art of Metal Gear Solid V!”

This description emphasizes the book’s role as both a collection of art and a historical document of the game’s creation.