Metal Gear Solid Makes Official 2026 Return With Surprise Release

Despite being one of the most influential gaming franchises of all time, the Metal Gear Solid series has been painfully dormant since Hideo Kojima’s departure from Konami, leaving fans with little to look forward to aside from the occasional remake or remaster. Even if it’s not a full-blown revival you may be hoping for, an unexpected crossover with the infamous FPS Rainbow Six Siege is aiming to fill the stealth espionage action niche instead.

While rumors had been floating around over the collaboration for a few days now, the official Rainbow6Game account on X posted a brand-new teaser for the first season of its roadmap, which included the sneaking hero himself being the primary focus. Even if Ubisoft is still hiding Snake’s ability showcase for a later date, you’ll be able to find out for yourself when the Roadmap stream airs on February 15 at 8 AM PST.

While players were already excited about the concept of a simple Solid Snake cosmetic, the trailer thumbnail shows he will instead be an entirely independent operator, similar to Splinter Cell‘s Sam Fisher. Even if Rainbow Six Siege has been struggling to address a few longstanding issues, the latest operator is easily one of its most exciting updates yet for fans of either franchise.

Although Zero was a little less surprising, given that the franchise is owned and created by Ubisoft themselves, Snake’s appearance is even more surprising than the bizarre crossover skins we had a few years back with Rainbow Six Siege x NieR in 2022.

While I’m more than happy to receive any Metal Gear content at this point, it’s exciting to consider how Ubisoft will decide to implement Snake’s gadgets into Siege’s FPS format.

A Chance For Two Gaming Legends To Finally Meet

While it’s hard to imagine Ubisoft offering a cardboard box to sneak around with, fans on Reddit have been speculating that it could incorporate CQC functionality and stealth abilities similar to Caveira, but for the attacking team, given Snake’s long career of stealth infiltrations.

With Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid being two legendary stealth franchises of the past, pairing him up with Siege‘s Zero for Snake’s reveal trailer was more than a fitting choice, especially given that the retired agent had already referenced Solid Snake once before in a DLC mission for Ghost Recon Wildlands.

Likely to have a more aggressive playstyle that focuses on quick takedowns or using camos and other gadgets to get around the enemy team, it will be more than interesting to see how Ubisoft’s two crossover characters compare when the Rainbow Six Siege x Metal Gear Solid collaboration finally releases.

Systems

Released

December 1, 2015

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Strong Language, Violence

Developer(s)

Ubisoft Montreal

Engine

AnvilNext 2.0

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Cross-Platform Play

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S