A few weeks ago, it was announced that David Hayter would not be reprising his role as voice artist for Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. This caused an uproar from fans and media alike, as Hayter has been loyal to the Metal Gear franchise, a series that has seen iteration after iteration. Soon after this bombshell was dropped, it was announced that Kiefer Sutherland from the popular television series 24 would be taking over the role. This was received with mixed feelings, but due to Sutherland's previous voice acting experience in games such as Call of Duty: World at War, any negative feelings toward the change were somewhat dampened.
It's been revealed that Hayter will not be completely severed from the franchise, as the actor will voice Solid Snake in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid digital graphic novel. This novel will come as part of the Metal Gear Legacy Collection, which releases tomorrow (July 9, 2013). This collection will include all games released for the franchise between 1987 and 2012, putting a hefty capstone on this generation in terms of Metal Gear. Though Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain will release on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, there will probably be a majority of gamers who play the game on next-generation consoles.
This will probably serve to be the definitive package in terms of Metal Gear – at least up until this point. Many would say that Solid Snake's journey ended with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, but Hideo Kojima seems to always have something up his sleeve. Hopefully, "Tactical Espionage Action" will be here for console generations to come.