Despite its convoluted storyline, head-scratching, high-concept sci-fi themes, and a distinct atonal quirkiness, the Metal Gear Solid series has been one of the most successful in the history of the video game medium. Debuting in the early days of console gaming, MGS has been around in some form since the mid-80s. Yet, despite its iconic status and passionate fanbase, the franchise’s future is very much in doubt. In fact, some believe that following the disaster that was 2018’s Metal Gear Survive, it may just be gone for good.

Released in 1998 on Sony’s first iteration of their PlayStation console, Metal Gear Solid was a genre-defining stealth/action masterpiece that helped to usher in a new era of gaming. But Hideo Kojima, the longtime producer and creative force behind that and every subsequent mainline entry in the series, cut ties with Konami. This was fairly disastrous for both parties, as it not only led to the infamous cancellation of the then-promising Silent Hills project, but also meant that Kojima would lose access to the Metal Gear property.

Since that period, Konami has only released one MGS title worthy of mention: the ill-received Survive. An awful rehash of the open-world first seen in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the mechanics introduced in this title were, five years behind current industry trends. The entire package seemed like a desperate attempt to cash in on the “zombie survival” craze which had, by 2018, all but fizzled out.

Mired in controversy thanks to their treatment of the property and their handling of Kojima’s departure, we’ve yet to hear anything concerning another entry in the franchise. Unfortunately, another major wrench in the MGS gears stems from the fact that Konami doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in the gaming industry anymore. Aside from new (and surprisingly well done) retro Castlevania bundle, the only other major release from the publisher this year was Contra: Rogue Corps, a game which likely wouldn’t even have passed muster on the Xbox Live Arcade back in 2006.

Rather, Konami is chiefly invested in gambling these days. Specifically, they have developed a penchant for releasing Pachinko machines based on their IPs in Japan. Pachinko has proven an addicting, infatuating gambling phenomenon in some Eastern countries recently, and, rather than dump millions into the development of an expensive, drawn-out mainline MGS title, Konami prefers to mitigate the risk factor of video game development by simply refusing to make them. Business is business, at the end of the day, but it seems disrespectful to a property which brought them so much success over the past two decades.

Still, Konami also has the Fox Engine, which was used to develop both MGS V and MGS: Survive. Though it doesn’t guarantee financial success, it’s certainly a solid base upon which to build another installment in the franchise. The increased graphical fidelity of the upcoming ninth console generation could also prove fertile grounds for the series, though it’s up to Konami to put the time and effort in, and, barring a major attitude change, that just doesn’t seem likely.

In reality, we probably haven’t seen the last of Metal Gear; there’s bound to be plenty more Pachinko machines based on the property to hit Japanese gambling dens in the near future. On a less sarcastic note, they’ll likely try their hand at a couple more titles, though whether they’ll rise above the mediocrity of Metal Gear: Survive remains to be seen.

In a sense, Kojima Productions, Hideo’s new Sony-affiliated development studio, is more likely to come out with the next great Metal Gear-esque game than Konami themselves. In fact, despite the mixed reviews, Kojima’s Death Stranding is already closer to the spirit of MGS than Survive ever was.

Perhaps that’s where the future of these games truly lies.