After 16 years, this 'lost', canonical Metal Gear Solid mobile game that was exclusive to just a handful of phones has been re-discovered

Metal Gear Solid collection — (Image credit: Konami)

A lost Metal Gear Solid mobile game from 2008 has been found and put online for preservation.

As reported by Time Extension, Metal Gear Solid Mobile has been recovered by several Twitter users, who have managed to revive a game originally released all the way back in 2008, making it available for anyone to play online via the power of emulation.

You are pretty good! Thanks to kind help of @markfeuerborn, the full BREW version of Metal Gear Solid Mobile has been dumped and preserved from Motorola V3M mobile phone. Get it here https://t.co/MfFyw8P9zj. Attached footage using Melange emulator running under WSA. pic.twitter.com/2Qpy52DQruFebruary 5, 2024

This actually isn't a Kojima or Konami-made game, but rather an odd spin-off made by London-based studio Ideaworks, which sadly closed its doors for good just a few years after the game debuted. It was made entirely for mobile devices, including, for example, the gaming-focused Nokia N-Gage.

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But wait - there's more! Metal Gear Solid Mobile isn't a port of the original Metal Gear Solid, but is instead an entirely original entry in the Konami franchise, taking place between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. It follows Snake and Otacon as they attempt to put Metal Gears around the world out of commission for good.

This is without a doubt one of the lesser-known Metal Gear games, and who can blame anyone for not knowing about it, given it's a mobile-exclusive game from 2008? If you'd rather not delve deep into the history books to play a new Metal Gear game, don't worry, because Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is set to release this year, according to PlayStation.

Series creator Hideo Kojima is returning to the stealth-action genre with new game called Physint, and it's happening because people kept begging him to make a new Metal Gear game.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.