[GameSpot] - Metal Gear 35th Anniversary Site Is A Prank

[343iBot]

A recently surfaced website claiming to be for the Metal Gear franchise's 35th anniversary is a fake, Konami has confirmed, with the site's creator having also come clean.

The site Metalgear35th.com appeared on April 1, which is suspicious, but some fans still believed it could have been an official Konami project. When the site then posted about a Metal Gear 35th anniversary NFT collection, fans still weren't sure if it was the real deal or not, considering Konami itself has auctioned NFTs in the past as part of Castlevania's 35th anniversary.

Konami has confirmed that they are in no way affiliated with the site in a statement to TechRadar, stating that it was "currently considering how to deal with the site." The site itself has also been updated to make clear that it's all an April Fools' Day joke.

"This website was made as an April Fools joke to parody Konami and the Castlevania 35th Anniversary NFT auction, and is NOT affiliated with Konami, OpenSea, or the Metal Gear series," the website reads. "Nothing on this website should be taken seriously, and there are no actual NFTs for sale."

The website statement goes on to beg Konami not to sue the site's creator, but to instead use its resources to "buy the historical footage licenses needed to put MGS2 and MGS3 back on digital storefronts."

Both Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 were removed from sale in November 2021 due to the licenses for historical footage used in the games expiring, with Konami stating it was working on renewing the licenses and asking for "patience and understanding as we work towards making these products available for purchase once again."

Rumors of a new entry in the Metal Gear series have long been floated but have yet to be confirmed by Konami. A report from October 2021 claimed that Konami was working on both a new title in the series as well as a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3.

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