Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Will Release Spring 2014

What is Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes? At first, it appeared to be the new Metal Gear Solid game. Then it sounded like it would be the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, functioning similarly to Metal Gear Solid 2's Tanker Chapter. Then it became its own, standalone title. That standalone title, Konami announced today, is releasing next spring for the Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

In a post on the Konami Blog, the announcement was accompanied by a general rundown of the synopsis (Snake/Big Boss has to save those two kids from Peace Walker, and then bad things happen, and that's where The Phantom Pain comes in) and features to be excited about (open world and beautiful graphics and open world and weather). It's a pretty standard post other than the release date announcement, but I must say that I was hoping to find mention of a price point. If this is indeed just a prologue to a larger, full-fledged game, I hope for this to be cheaper than the full $60. [EDIT: It would appear to be $29.99 for digital download on PS4 and Xbox One, $29.99 for retail copy on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and $19.99 for digital download on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Tiny bit confusing.]

I'm such a dork for this franchise, though, that I know I would pay for it anyway. Announce a limited edition with an artbook and I'll throw my whole wallet at it. Curse you, Kojima.

If any new screenshots or trailers come down the pipeline we'll keep you updated, but until then, chalk this one up to a major release in a launch window that already includes the likes of inFamous: Second Son and Watch Dogs. Next spring is suddenly becoming more exciting than the holiday season...