At the recently-concluded VGAs, one of the biggest — if not the biggest — surprise reveals was "Phantom Pain" by studio Moby DIck Studios. If you're not familiar with Moby Dick Studios, you're not alone. Also, it seems fishy that an unknown studio is now having its debut game featured at the VGAs.
Before we dive in to what we know of Phantom Pain, give the trailer a watch first. It asks a lot of questions, but doesn't present a lot of answers. But it is intriguing, nonetheless.
The Phantom Pain by milkandmolasses
While the official Moby Dick Studios site states they're from Sweden, there are a lot of clues that connect it with Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear franchise and we'll get to all that in a bit.
First off, the "About Us" part of Moby Dick Studio's page states the following:
Moby Dick Studio is a game developing company operating out of Stockholm, Sweden. Moby Dick Studio was founded by CEO Joakim Mogren who after years of working for a major American developer brought together people out of various game studios from around the Scandinavian area to start something new.
Our goal is to deliver an uncompromising, exciting and touching game experience to people all around the globe.
We will shortly be disclosing information regarding our first major release.
Aside from that, the "Images" and other parts of the site don't have anything on them, which seems odds since they already have a trailer ready for reveal, no?
As it turns out, this might not be a "new" IP after all. First clue was the company's CEO Joakim Mogren. Joakim, if rearranged, spells "Kojima;" yes, the same Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear fame. Additionally. Mogren is a football club in Montenegro and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance opens in Montenegro (via Michael McWhertor)…is it a coincidence? I think not.
Courtesy of NeoGAF, we also see various references to the trailer's protagonist, which is sporting Snake's trademark mullet, and even the "dude in the fire." We've embedded the images below as proof.
Pic #1 Trailer protagonist has the same scar as Metal Gear's Snake.
Pic #2 The unknown man in the fire is actually Metal Gear Solid 3's Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin or simply known as "Volgin." See the similarities in the clothing.
Pic #3 is a bit of a stretch, but some people are seeing a "Metal Gear Solid V" in Phantom Pain's logo. See if you can see the same.
Lastly, it has now been confirmed that Kojima is officially involved. In the VIP section of Konami's party, there are people wearing Phantom Pain/Moby Dick Studios shirt (via Alex Ruben — thanks, Kotaku).
While GameTrailers host Geoff Keighley went on Twitter to state that Phantom Pain is "nothing that has been shown before," it doesn't mean it's not Metal Gear, no? Here's his full tweet:
Thanks for all the VGA feedback. The Phantom Pain is an a completely game, nothing that has been shown before. I assure you of that.
So, it is Hideo Kojima related. But the question is, is it Metal Gear Solid 5 or just a viral trailer for Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes? Or could it possibly be a new game in the Metal Gear Solid franchise? We honestly can't answer that accurately for now, but we can guess, no?
Based from the info and trailer shown above, what do you think Phantom Pain will be in its final state? Speculate in the comments below.
