Hideo Kojima, the creator of the "Metal Gear" series, announced that the latest installment in the franchise, "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain," will arrive in September of this year.
Kojima also revealed that the protagonist, Venom Snake, also known as Big Boss, has been redesigned for the game.
In a series of interviews with gaming news site IGN, the game creator said he tweaked Snake's character in order to focus more on the players.
Although the character is voiced by "24" star Kiefer Sutherland, Snake may not have a lot of speaking parts in the game.
Kojima explained that the decision to deliver a quiet Snake was made because he sees the character as the alter ego of the gamer. By doing so, he is able to give players more control over Snake's actions and the game's storyline.
"I made a very conscious effort this time to bring Snake closer to the player's perspective," he told IGN. "As much as possible, Snake will act based on the player rather than doing things like making spontaneous comments or flirting with women."
"This time, Snake won't really speak much at all," Kojima continued. "'Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain' is an open world game focused on giving freedom to the player who will drive Snake's actions."
The game creator then went on to say that although Snake will be a "silent protagonist," the dialogues that will progress the game's plot will be delivered by the other characters that he interacts with.
As for the future of the series, Kojima noted that the "Phantom Pain" might be his last "Metal Gear" game. He mentioned that the latest installment of the franchise will serve as the ending of the series' saga, according to a different interview with IGN.
"Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" will arrive on Sept. 1 for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 platforms. As for PC gamers, they can access the game through Steam after it debuts on Sept. 15.
