"Metal Gear Survive" is the first game in the series to be released since "Metal Gear" creator Hideo Kojima left publisher Konami in 2015. Konami retained the rights to the hugely popular franchise and announced shortly after Kojima's departure that a new game was in the works. Many fans have wondered what a new installment in the series would look like without Kojima at the helm, and it seems the answer isn't good.
A weak debut
"Metal Gear Survive" released last week and the UK game chart was updated today to reflect the past seven days of game sales.
Despite sporting a big brand name, "Metal Gear Survive" has failed to debut in the Top three of the UK game charts, or even the top five. Most Triple-A games hope to at least debut in the top spot but "Metal Gear Survive" has only reached the sixth place and, given the mediocre reviews, it seems unlikely it'll climb any higher.
The charts
The top spot has been taken by "FIFA 18" and in second place is Rockstar's hugely popular "Grand Theft Auto V." "Call of Duty: WWII" sits in third, "Monster Hunter: World" is in fourth, and "EA Sports UFC 3" brings up the rear in fifth.
This coming week sees the release of the Nintendo Switch version of "Payday 2," making the competition even stiffer.
Poor reviews
Many fans were skeptical about a new entry that wasn't spearheaded by Kojima, but there was certainly an interest in seeing where the franchise might go. Previous "Metal Gear" games have enjoyed very strong reviews from critics but "Metal Gear Survive" has received fairly average scores and currently holds a 62 on Metacritic with 16 reviews logged.
No doubt these average scores haven't exactly inspired gamers to spend their hard earned money on a game that seems to fail to live up to the "Metal Gear" legacy.
Microtransactions
The game has also received some criticism for its abundance of microtransactions. Microtransactions have always been a controversial feature in video games in general, and they are especially prevalent in this latest release.
Gamers have spoken out against the fact that the game requires you to spend real money if you want to unlock a second save slot to begin a new character with, a feature that's free in almost all other games.
The future of Metal Gear
Given this relatively lukewarm to the first game in the series without Kojima, it's possible that Konami may decide not to expand the franchise any further. Konami also makes Pachinko machines and mobile games, so it's possible the company will abandon Triple-A games in favor of these less time consuming and costly markets.
