--- title: Metal Gear Solid 5 Ending Finally Answered By Konami description: Metal Gear Solid 5 publisher Konami finally answered a conspiracy theory about the game's ending. canonical: https://time.com/4473908/metal-gear-solid-5-ending/ author: Matt Peckham article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-31T14:56:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:50:26.747Z article:section: Business og:title: Konami Finally Answered the 'Metal Gear Solid 5' Ending og:description: Publisher says the ending we got is the ending we were supposed to og:url: https://time.com/4473908/metal-gear-solid-5-ending/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4266a885b89ecbdf/6988730fbc6cfc75b43da94e/best-looking-games-201605.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: best-looking-games-201605 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Konami Finally Answered the 'Metal Gear Solid 5' Ending twitter:description: Publisher says the ending we got is the ending we were supposed to twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4266a885b89ecbdf/6988730fbc6cfc75b43da94e/best-looking-games-201605.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Konami Finally Answered the 'Metal Gear Solid 5' Ending Question by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Aug 31, 2016 2:56 PM CUT  Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Design Process: "This cut scene is expressed as a technique called SSS (Sub-Surface Scattering). The soft shadow is scattered on his skin from the light to convey a certain mood." - Kojima Productions Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Design Process: "This cut scene is expressed as a technique called SSS (Sub-Surface Scattering). The soft shadow is scattered on his skin from the light to convey a certain mood." - Kojima ProductionsKojima Productions by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Aug 31, 2016 2:56 PM CUT You might assume the most authentic source for pronouncements about a game like _Metal Gear Solid V_ ([read TIME’s review](http://time.com/4008685/metal-gear-solid-phantom-pain-review/ "undefined")) would be [its director](https://twitter.com/HIDEO%5FKOJIMA%5FEN "undefined"), but for now, the game’s publisher Konami will have to do. Konami says a “definitive” edition of the game set to include both preamble _Ground Zeroes_ and main story _The Phantom Pain_ will arrive on October 11\. But some—unhappy with the game’s ending and given to conspiracy theories about the exclusion of an incomplete additional mission that was shared like a film’s deleted scene on the collector’s edition bonus disc—won’t rest until Konami gives them the ending they feel they deserve. [Sound familiar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass%5FEffect%5F3#Controversy "undefined")? “How is it definitive if the ending is still missing?” [wrote one Twitter user](https://twitter.com/Spindash54/status/770660039363141632 "undefined"). To my surprise, and I assume everyone else’s looking, Konami replied: > [](https://twitter.com/metalgear%5Fen/status/770661257632374784) After further, more specific questioning (you can read [the thread in full here](https://twitter.com/Konami/status/770652328567279616 "undefined"), though warning: huge endgame spoilers!), Konami said this: > [](https://twitter.com/metalgear%5Fen/status/770662138486546432) Whither director Hideo Kojima? He may in fact have weighed in last November, though it’s impossible to know for sure, [when he tweeted](https://twitter.com/hideo%5Fkojima%5Fen/status/667661757058412544 "undefined") “Good speculation of MGSV TPP by 2 Japanese best-seller Novelists,” then linked to their conversation about the game. At one point during that conversation, referring to the excluded so-called 51st chapter, writer Manabu Makime says: --- > “” --- To which co-writer Hitori Nojima replies: --- > “” --- As far as I know, mind-reading’s [still a pseudoscience](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepathy "undefined"), so I’m left shrugging at the gossip, and with my own perhaps fitting ambivalence towards the game’s denouement. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4473908/metal-gear-solid-5-ending/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4473908/metal-gear-solid-5-ending/"},"headline":"Konami Finally Answered the 'Metal Gear Solid 5' Ending Question","datePublished":"2016-08-31T14:56:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:26.747Z","description":"Publisher says the ending we got is the ending we were supposed to","url":"https://time.com/4473908/metal-gear-solid-5-ending/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4266a885b89ecbdf/6988730fbc6cfc75b43da94e/best-looking-games-201605.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Peckham","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4266a885b89ecbdf/6988730fbc6cfc75b43da94e/best-looking-games-201605.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"best-looking-games-201605","caption":"Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Design Process: \"This cut scene is expressed as a technique called SSS (Sub-Surface Scattering). 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