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Metal Gear Solid Delta’s Safe Remake Strategy May Have Backfired

Originally posted on Total Apex Gaming | By Mollie Dominy | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 2:18 PM ET

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was supposed to be a big deal. A full remake of one of the most iconic stealth-action games ever made, rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, and marketed as a love letter to Kojima’s legacy. But judging by the launch numbers, most players either didn’t get the memo—or didn’t care.

According to SteamDB, Snake Eater peaked at just 19,634 concurrent players on launch day. That’s 78% lower than Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which hit over 91,000 during its debut week. And yes, MGS V is nearly a decade old. So what happened?

A Faithful Remake That Might’ve Played It Too Safe

Let’s start with the obvious: this remake didn’t take risks. Delta is loyal to a fault. It doesn’t reimagine Snake Eater—it recreates it. Same story, same structure, same pacing. And while that might sound like a win for purists, it’s also why some fans are asking whether this remake was even necessary.

The Collector’s Edition didn’t help. It was mocked for featuring a Snake that looked… off. Like, uncanny valley off. Combine that with performance issues tied to Unreal Engine 5—yes, the optimization was rough enough that the community had to patch it themselves—and you’ve got a launch that feels more like a shrug than a celebration.

Metal Gear Solid Delta’s Steam Numbers Tell a Brutal Story

Screenshot Metal Gear Solid Delta: Solid Snake courtesy of State of Play 2025

The Phantom Pain wasn’t just a bigger launch—it’s still pulling numbers. At the time of writing, MGS V had over 2,000 concurrent players on Steam. Delta? Just under 6,000. That’s not a great look for a brand-new release, especially when the older game is still holding its own.

Sure, some players may have opted for PlayStation, where the original Snake Eater made its name. But even accounting for the platform split, the drop-off is steep. And it doesn’t help that the game was cracked almost immediately, which likely siphoned off a chunk of potential PC traffic.

Nostalgia Isn’t Enough Anymore

Delta’s biggest problem isn’t technical—it’s emotional. It’s banking on nostalgia in a market that’s already drowning in remakes. And while Snake Eater is a classic, it’s also a game that’s been re-released, re-packaged, and re-analyzed to death. Players wanted something more than a graphical upgrade. They wanted a reason to come back.

Instead, they got a museum piece. Beautiful, yes. But static. And in a year packed with genre-defining releases and surprise hits, Delta feels like it showed up late to its own party.

Final Thoughts: Delta Needed More Than Fidelity—It Needed Fire

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater isn’t a bad game. It’s technically impressive, visually stunning, and narratively intact. But it’s also safe. Too safe. And in a franchise built on subversion, espionage, and emotional gut-punches, playing it safe is the riskiest move of all.

The numbers don’t lie. Players didn’t show up. And unless Konami finds a way to inject some life into this remake—whether through updates, expansions, or actual innovation—Delta may end up being remembered not as a triumph, but as a missed opportunity.

Snake Eater deserved better. And so did the fans.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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