Metal Gear Solid: Full game order, series timeline & which are canon

Figuring out the Metal Gear Solid chronology, story canon, and game order is a major challenge, but approaching the series doesn’t have to be difficult.

Metal Gear Solid remains one of the most iconic game series in the world even though there hasn’t been a new installment since 2018. The series’ legacy and the enduring popularity of series creator Hideo Kojima, who is working on the mysterious OD and the Death Stranding series, has kept it on the minds of gamers the world over. Just as importantly, Konami is regularly publishing console games again, bringing the series back to the fore.

But with Metal Gear Solid’s long history and its many spin-offs, newcomers to the series might not know how to get started playing the games. Here’s the full Metal Gear Solid game order, its mainline installments, which are canon, and how to start playing the series at this point.

All mainline Metal Gear games

There are only nine games that are mainline parts of the Metal Gear Solid series. The series first originated in 1987 with Metal Gear for MSX, a computer operating system that had limited global usage. It didn’t become a global sensation until 1998 with Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation.

Here are all the mainline Metal Gear Solid games, in order of release:

1. Metal Gear (1987)
2. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990)
3. Metal Gear Solid (1998)
4. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
6. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
7. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010)
8. Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes (2014)
9. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (2015)

The release order is fairly easy to track, at least through Metal Gear Solid 4. Peace Walker bucked series tradition by being released on a handheld instead of a console and didn’t have a number in its title. Despite this, it is still a key part of the series’ narrative. Metal Gear Solid 5 was also famously broken up into two parts, with Ground Zeroes essentially serving as a paid demo and story teaser for the full release in The Phantom Pain.

Full Metal Gear Solid game release order, including spin-offs

There are many different spin-offs in the Metal Gear series, some of which didn’t involve series creator Hideo Kojima. This started very early in Metal Gear’s history with an NES sequel to Metal Gear being produced by Konami for western markets without Kojima’s involvement.

Here is every Metal Gear game ever released including the spin-offs, as well as year of release and their initial platform:

Alongside these releases have been several compilations, remasters, and remakes.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection delivered HD ports of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, and brought Peace Walker to consoles. Both versions of MGS2, Sons of Liberty and Substance, were included in the collection. The same applies to MGS3, which includes both Snake Eater and Subsistence. The game also ported the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection arrived in 2013 and added the original Metal Gear Solid, VR Missions, and Metal Gear Solid 4 to its offering. It also included a motion comic version of the Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2 graphic novels

Konami significantly dialed back its efforts in the console gaming industry in 2019 but returned a few years later. In 2023, the company released Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1. This included much of the content from The Legacy Collection, albeit while removing Metal Gear Solid 4 and adding Snake’s Revenge. Details regarding a Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 2 were uncovered through data mines of Volume 1.

All Metal Gear Solid remakes

Some games in the Metal Gear Solid series have been remade over the years, though there is some debate regarding what constitutes a true remake.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was the first proper remake of a game in the Metal Gear Series. The GameCube-exclusive title took the original Metal Gear Solid, modernized its graphics and gameplay, and redid many of its cutscenes.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is also receiving a remake in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. While a debate can be had regarding whether the game is a remake or an enhanced remaster, the game is being officially categorized and marketed as a remake.

Should you play Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes or the original?

Players should opt to play the original Metal Gear Solid over The Twin Snakes remake.

The Twin Snakes garnered generally strong reviews upon release but has become less popular with time. The remake takes some liberties when it comes to the actual physical abilities of protagonist Solid Snake. While he is regarded as the ultimate soldier in the games, he is downright superhuman in The Twin Snakes. 

Alongside this, certain elements of the game are not adjusted to compensate for new gameplay additions. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes maintains the original level design but adds first-person shooting, making certain bosses and areas much easier. The game is still strong and a valid way to experience Metal Gear Solid, but the original is more in line thematically.

Metal Gear Solid game story timeline

The Metal Gear Solid timeline begins with the events of Metal Gear Solid 3. There are effectively two separate parts to the series, one starring Solid Snake and one following Naked Snake. The Metal Gear Solid games don’t necessarily need to be played in order, but it’s not a bad way to approach the series.

Here is the definitive timeline of the mainline Metal Gear Solid games:

• 1964- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
• 1974- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• 1975- Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes
• 1984- Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
• 1995- Metal Gear
• 1999- Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
• 2005- Metal Gear Solid
• 2007- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• 2014- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Many spin-off titles are explicitly said to take place on certain dates, but not all fit within the series canon. Metal Gear Solid Acid, for example, takes place in 2016 but Solid Snake isn’t shown to be suffering from advanced aging as he is in Metal Gear Solid 4. Portable Ops, on the other hand, fits comfortably between Metal Gear Solid 3 and Peace Walker.

Which games are canon to the Metal Gear Solid story?

Metal Gear Solid’s story canon encompasses the mainline Metal Gear games and elements from a few spin-offs.

The Metal Gear Solid canon is somewhat confusing based on retcons and the sheer number of spin-offs that Kojima had a hand in creating. Alongside this, many of the Metal Gear spin-offs are kept vague in terms of their canonical status.

Most Metal Gear spin-offs are completely non-canonical, regardless of Kojima’s presence. Games like Metal Gear Acid on the PSP and Metal Gear Solid on the Game Boy Color were produced by Hideo Kojima but are considered separate from the main canon.

The following games are definitely a canonical part of the Metal Gear Solid story:

• Metal Gear
• Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes
• Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Some spin-off titles are also included as part of Metal Gear Solid’s story.

Metal Gear Solid Mobile for the Nokia N-Gage was said to be a canonical part of the series ahead of its release. Though it hasn’t been made demonstrably non-canonical, neither Konami nor Kojima has acknowledged the game since launch. It’s uncertain whether it officially remains part of series canon.

Is Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops canon?

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is considered a canonical part of the series’ story.

Portable Ops for the PSP was seemingly a point of contention between Konami and Kojima. Promotional materials from both Kojima Productions and Konami suggested that Portable Ops was part of Metal Gear Solid’s canon. Over time, Kojima Productions-produced content pushed back against that notion.

New story threads in the game tie into the series’ overarching narrative and alter the fates of certain characters. This includes introducing backstories for Roy Campbell and Gray Fox, retconning the death of Sokolov in Metal Gear Solid 3, and muddying the nature of the relationship between the Philosophers and the Patriots. The events of Portable Ops are passingly mentioned during Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, but the additions it made to the story are never revisited.

Regardless of whether Kojima considered the games canon, Konami does and now has complete control of the series. Bonus materials for Metal Gear Solid Master Collection include the game within the series’ canonical timeline and while it is labeled as a “spin-off title” within that timeline, its inclusion is notable. Only two spin-off games are included in the timeline at all, despite many of them being discussed in the book.

Is Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance canon?

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was labeled as a “parallel story” by Hideo Kojima, but is seemingly now a part of the official canon.

Speaking in an interview with outsidexbox ahead of the game’s release, Kojima stated that the game was not a true part of the series’ narrative. Though Kojima acknowledged it as a “continuation” of the story and spoke positively of PlatinumGames, he was also fairly explicit that Senator Armstrong et al are not part of the official story. He added that the faux sequel to Metal Gear Solid 4 is “different from what [he] had in mind” for the post-game story.

However, in the official Metal Gear Solid Master Books released alongside Metal Gear Solid Master Collection, the events of Revengeance are included in the chronological timeline of events in the series. Portable Ops and Revengeance are the only spin-off titles included in this chronology. Various other titles are acknowledged in the books but were not included in the timeline.

With Konami controlling the Metal Gear Solid franchise at this point, this suggests that Metal Gear Rising Revengeance is being considered a canonical part of the story despite not being a mainline game. While the company could backpedal on this in future releases, it is seemingly embracing the heavily memed game.

Do I need to play the Metal Gear Solid games in order?

Players can jump into most, but not all, Metal Gear Solid games without having prior experience with the series.

An overwhelming majority of Metal Gear fans were introduced to the series with Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation 1. Though there are references to the events of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, few actually played them before getting started.

Metal Gear Solid 3 can be played without any past experience without losing much enjoyment. The game is the first in the series’ chronology and, despite including some characters from other Metal Gear titles, is largely a fresh start.

Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain can be played without prior experience with the series. The games heavily retcon events from past titles to the point where they can be played on their own.

Players shouldn’t start their journey in the series with Metal Gear Solid 2, 4, or Peace Walker. These titles are closely intertwined with past events in Metal Gear Solid games. Newcomers to the series will quickly be scratching their heads over story moments and will have little opportunity to get their bearings.