Metal Gear: Snake Actor Akio Otsuka Wants a New Game

Akio Otsuka, the veteran voice behind multiple iterations of Snake, has publicly supported the idea of Konami developing a new Metal Gear Solid entry. In the world of messy corporate breakups, suggesting your ex-employer keep making the game that made you famous is a bold diplomatic strategy.

Speaking to Japanese publication Bunshun, Otsuka—who has voiced Solid, Naked, Solidus, and Venom Snake since the late '80s—stated that the series belongs to the global fanbase now. "Let’s make one more Metal Gear game" for the fans, Otsuka told the outlet, pointing out that global players are eagerly waiting for another entry.

The stance is a notable shift from Otsuka's previous position. He had previously declared on the YouTube show Mori no Su that he had no intention of working on another Metal Gear project without franchise creator Hideo Kojima. While he laughed to Bunshun that he cannot easily back down from that personal oath, he still feels Konami shouldn't let the intellectual property sit idle.

Otsuka also shared his deep admiration for Kojima's post-Konami journey, noting that he cried when his independent project was finally completed. "He went through so many hardships after leaving the company and managed to pull off this massive project," Otsuka said, referring to the development of Death Stranding.

The details

• The speaker: Akio Otsuka, the longtime Japanese voice of multiple Snakes
• The stance: Believes Konami should make a new Metal Gear for the fans
• The caveat: Previously vowed never to work on the series without Hideo Kojima, a promise he says he "can't back down" from

Whether Konami takes the advice—and whether Otsuka finds a loophole in his own diplomatic treaty—remains a question best left, as the actor put it regarding his private talks with Kojima, to our imagination.