Metal Gear Solid 4 and Peace Walker have been quietly removed by Konami from the PlayStation and Xbox digital stores

While the announcement of Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2—the upcoming compilation of Konami’s iconic saga—was great news for fans, they are now facing a bit of a disappointment. Ahead of its release in August, the brand’s managers have removed both Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker from the PlayStation and Xbox digital stores. Although they will not disappear “forever” as new versions are in the works as part of Master Collection Vol. 2, the old debate about preservation and whether each re-release should irrevocably replace older versions has been reopened.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker “disappear” from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Microsoft Store

During the February 12 State of Play, Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2 was announced, the new compilation of Konami’s popular franchise, which will go on sale on August 27, 2026. This new release consists of three video games: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008), Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010), and, as an extra, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (2000), the Game Boy Color game released in the West as Metal Gear Solid. However, a week later, several players noticed that both MGS4 and Peace Walker, which were still available in digital format on PlayStation and Xbox stores, had been removed without prior notice.

Fortunately, this is not another case of lost media where it is impossible to get hold of versions of these titles on modern platforms, but rather a controversial move, yes, but one that is common with this type of game when a new edition is in the pipeline. Given that the new versions of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Peace Walker will be released in August for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and Switch 2, Konami has unilaterally decided to withdraw the versions that were compatible with PS3, PSP, and Xbox 360.

In other words: after the arrival of Master Collection Vol. 2, both Peace Walker and Guns of the Patriots will be playable on all current platforms. The case of MGS4 is particularly significant, as this is the first time the game has been released from its “prison,” having never been re-released after its original 2008 release on PS3. However, the withdrawal of previous digital versions is a real blow for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox 360 owners, as the only way they will now be able to enjoy MGS4 (PS3 only) or MGS: PW (PS3, PSP, and Xbox 360) will be through a physical version.

Although Metal Gear fans are celebrating the arrival of Master Collection Vol. 2, they also remember how this happened with the arrival of the first volume, when Konami withdrew previous versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) from digital stores, all in order to pave the way for the revamped editions of the 2023 compilation. Although these were well-received versions that have continued to receive support and extra features until 2026, many agree that a re-release should never replace a previous edition, especially if something goes wrong with the latest version. This was the case with the troubled Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition in 2021, which did not reach an acceptable state until several years later.

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