Konami announced that the PC version of its stealth-action game Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain will launch day-and-date with console editions, hitting Steam worldwide on September 1.
Metal Gear Solid 5‘s PC port was originally slated to debut in mid-September, but a recent push by its development staff bumped up its release to the first of the month.
“We initially did not think it would be possible to get such an epic game out onto PC in time for launch alongside its console counterparts, but all involved have worked diligently to meet the demands of our PC consumers,” said Konami Digital Entertainment president Tomotada Tashiro. “We feel confident that Steam users will be satisfied with the contents we will provide for the Steam version.”
Konami revealed that players who pre-order the PC edition of Metal Gear Solid 5 will get a free copy of the game’s 2014 prologue chapter Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. Steam buyers will additionally receive a behind-the-scenes documentary video, along with the “Venom Snake” emblem and Mother Base Staff DLC.
Release plans for Metal Gear Solid 5‘s upcoming multiplayer component Metal Gear Online also emerged today. Metal Gear Solid Online will launch first for consoles on October 6, and PC players will join the fray in January 2016.
Re-envisioning the Metal Gear series’ trademark stealth gameplay in the context of a squad-based competitive multiplayer shooter, Metal Gear Online features a class system that allows players to level up and learn new abilities in battle. Metal Gear Online is an evolved version of a multiplayer spinoff game that shipped with 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PlayStation 3.
2008’s Metal Gear Online followed up on previous online-enabled multiplayer modes for series entries Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. Metal Gear Online‘s PS3 servers were shuttered in 2012, rendering the service inoperable.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain debuts for the PlayStation 4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC platforms on September 1 in North America.