Solid Snake Actor David Hayter Teases ‘This is Only the Beginning’ for the Metal Gear Franchise

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Original Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter has riled up the Metal Gear fanbase after teasing “this is only the beginning” for the franchise, while promoting his upcoming retrospective video series highlighting iconic moments from the games.

“Critics called the game innovative, a cinematic classic, even the best video game ever made,” said Hayter during the half minute trailer, below. “The sequels received equally widespread acclaim, ultimately growing into a franchise that has reshaped the gaming world, and I hope you’re ready, this is only the beginning.”

The brief teaser simultaneously advertised the newly released Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 while also promoting Konami’s upcoming retrospective video series, in which Hayter will guide viewers through iconic moments from the long running franchise.

Hayter first voiced returning series protagonist Solid Snake in Hideo Kojima’s 1998 title Metal Gear Solid, and later returned to voice the character multiple times — alongside those of Old Snake and Naked Snake — in each major franchise entry.

Kojima later made the controversial decision to recast Snake for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, opting instead to have 24 star Kiefer Sutherland voice the iconic mercenary, much to the chagrin of long time fans. Those same individuals are among the many gamers overjoyed to see Hayter return to take a more active role in the series that he played an instrumental role in bringing to life.

This…

Is only the beginning. #MGSVol1 https://t.co/atJdsSIo78

— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) October 30, 2023

Seeing David Hayter being officially part of Metal Gear Konami marketing material in the year 2023 brings a legit tear of joy to my eye ❤️ https://t.co/eVZ0dC75Hn

— MHM (@MrHooboMaster) October 30, 2023

Glad they finally got you involved it felt weird with you being on the outside looking in…

— Big TeeJ Gaming (@Big__TeeJ) October 30, 2023

Good to have the boss back 👏🏻

— Danger (@Haydenbarton_39) October 30, 2023

We need more Hayter!

— Tony D (@RealTonyD2) October 30, 2023

Others wondered what exactly Hayter was referring to when he teased that “this is only the beginning”. Many pointed out that the actor was likely referring to the so-far unannounced Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, or to his upcoming video series. Other, more excited members of the community speculated about further remakes, and additional content being developed for existing entries.

People in the comments asking what this means about a game with “volume 1” in the title. I’m not trying to ruin the fun and speculation but guys https://t.co/6F6wxR4j1J

— Captain_PickleSpoops (@pickleshanks) October 31, 2023

METAL GEAR SOLID 4 REMAKE ???? https://t.co/5IkW9P6jBF

— Faisal🐐 (@RastaLaGoat) October 30, 2023

Imagine if Volume 2 had @DavidBHayter re-record the dialogue for Snake in MGSV as a selling point….

— Genkijoe (@_GenkiJoe_) October 31, 2023

Regardless of speculation, one thing we know for sure is that Hayter’s voice acting talents will feature in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake. The Canadian-American actor’s voice also features heavily in the recently released Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1, which got off to a rocky start on PC having launched ealier this month.

Nintendo Switch players were also less than happy to discover that Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, and 3 were not included on the physical cartridge, and instead had to be downloaded. Dataminers have since discovered additional evidence to suggest that several more re-releases are in the works, including MGS4, MGS5, and Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer