Konami just gives up and tells people how to trigger MGS 5's secret ending

If you've played Metal Gear Solid 5 through to the end you'll know that it doesn't really have one. Well, not a great one, anyway. Once you get to Chapter 2 it's all hard replays of old missions and mystery conditions to unlock new bits. However, there's been a lot of talk of a secret ending that Konami is now explaining how to unlock.

Chances are 'The Secret Nuclear Disarmament Event' is the one that's already been pulled out of the game's files (you can look it up if you don't already know about it). There's been cut scene videos and people had already worked out the rules to activate them. But some are still hoping that there's more to discover, which isn't impossible as something new could always be patched in, but these terms from Konami so far match everything that's been discovered. This is the official guidance on how to trigger the event:

THE SECRET NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT EVENT
There is another important secret in Metal Gear Solid V: a hidden event that can only be unlocked when very specific conditions are fulfilled.

1. You must have completed Mission 31.
2. You must not own or be currently developing a nuclear weapon. If you have any nukes in stock, you must dismantle them.

3. Certain conditions related to nuclear proliferation must be met on the regional server for your corresponding gaming platform (PlayStation4, PlayStation3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC).
4. All nuclear weapons on the regional server corresponding to your console or platform must have been dismantled. In other words, the amount of nukes on your platform's server must be equal to 0.

If all four conditions are met, you will automatically trigger the secret nuclear disarmament event when you return to Mother Base or after you complete a main mission. Should new nukes be developed after conditions 3 and 4 have been fulfilled, this event can be repeated by fulfilling all four conditions again.

So, in order to trigger the ending properly everyone has to get rid of their nukes in each territory. This is the current standing which the official MGS twitter account will be updating regularly. Clearly the PC lot love a good atomic weapon:

There's actually currently a community divide between MGS gamers calling themselves either the Patriots or the Philanthropists depending on whether they want to keep or rid the game of nuclear bombs. It'll be interesting to see how this affects things because the chances of everyone decided to disarm is slim - someone out there is going to keep pumping out the nukes.

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Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.