the digital version of the game, it is free for you on PC—the best part of the deal. However, to be clear, this is the case only if your console is an Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S. PlayStation and Steam users are not getting the same privileges here. On the contrary, the other side is still hoping to get access to it through normal Steam channels, waiting for the latter to show up in the storefront. Given that the discussion surrounding initial availability has already started in the community, the issue of sale and features as well as future collections has been re-opened with the announcement of the game.
Thus, the game is indeed available and definitely gonna be played. But, the story is always in the likes and replies, isn’t it? Debuting the tweet about the release was an instantaneous response that could only be called a tumult of mixed feelings, uncertainty, and strong demands. The players who were supposed to assist the mission gave very quick replies, but the instructions they provided were rather ambiguous.
A particular aspect that made many players pay attention was the exact platform. The link takes you to the Microsoft Store for acquiring. And right away, the user ‘the killer sandvich’ posed the question which no one else had the courage to ask: ‘Is there anyone using the Windows Store?’. Ouch! That is just like saying the store has zero clients. Nevertheless, this incited a large talk about the pricing and tastes of the different app shops, and ‘MajimaConstruction’ even at one point referred to their purchasing of Dynasty Warriors 8 from the Windows Store, as it was very much cheaper than on Steam. Well, that’s a very good observation made—the Windows Store is not entirely deserted, it does have some niche?
However, more prominently, the phenomenon was the clarification. There were quite a few players like ‘pablo5425’ and ‘Jay1987’ who were unsure and pushing it “but it was already on windows.” This is where the ‘Play Anywhere’ feature becomes very important. Users like ‘Yahya’ and ‘EvilCarrett’ corroborated: this is strictly an improvement for the Xbox Play Anywhere option. If you have bought the digital version on Xbox your license now also extends to PC. That is in fact a quite nice deal. ‘Francisco Relaño Peña’ had to notify this to another user, indicating that this is the PC version of the Xbox build which is different from that of Steam. Wait! Is there a Steam version? This leads us to the next major query.
User ‘n050up4u’ simply asked, ‘whats the steam version?😑’. Good question! And it is connected to another problem of content, which was already discussed. Another player ‘NV’ was asking whether Windows version includes the extra like ‘Snake vs. Monkey or Bomberman?’- alluding to the modes from previous versions. The conversation took a different turn when ‘Old Snake’ and other users were debating whether the description still mentions Bomberman. This is typical Metal Gear fandom: they go into details to uncover hidden significance or non-existent features.
And then, of course, there was a discussion about the future. You can’t show just one Metal Gear thing to the fans without them asking for everything else. The comments section turned into a wish list. ‘Murilo2020’ proposed ‘maybe you guys could just put metal gear 5 and the master collection too.’ ‘allen saw chappell roan’ and ‘fortnite big boss’ both were inquiring, ‘when is the master collection volume 2 coming?’. ‘MasterDarkseid’ over here is demanding GOG releases. ‘Faiss_198’ is asking about the crossplay of the Foxhound multiplayer mode. ‘Leo’ from Peru wonders if GeForce Now will be supported. ‘Rodrigo Sena’ is bringing up Xbox Cloud Gaming. It is literally an avalanche of requests and wants.
It is kind of amusing and at the same time completely justified. The series has experienced a lot and the audience has become possessive. They see a new title being released digitally on one store, and suddenly all their concerns about preservation, accessibility, and collecting the whole set come rushing in. The excitement around Delta is real—’Cebo’ commented, “You made the right move here!”—but it also comes with a long history of expectations and unanswered questions.
