Metal Gear Solid (1998 video game)

Metal Gear Solid is a 1998 action-adventure stealth game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation. It was directed, produced, and written by Hideo Kojima, and follows the MSX2 games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

Players control Solid Snake, a soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special forces unit. Snake must liberate hostages and stop the terrorists from launching a nuclear strike. Cinematic cutscenes were rendered using the in-game engine and graphics, and voice acting is used throughout. Metal Gear Solid was unveiled at the 1996 Tokyo Game Show and demonstrated at trade shows including the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Metal Gear Solid received unanimous acclaim. Regarded as one of the greatest and most important video games ever made, it helped popularize the stealth genre and in-engine cinematic cutscenes. It sold more than seven million copies worldwide and shipped 12 million demos. It was followed by an expanded version for PlayStation and Windows, Metal Gear Solid: Integral (1999); media adaptations including a radio drama, comics and novels; and numerous sequels, starting with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001). It has been rereleased on multiple formats, and a remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, was released for GameCube in 2004.