According to Interfax, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Andrei Kartapolov thinks the video game series Metal Gear is corrupting the youth of the United States. This was stated during a parliamentary roundtable discussion.
Specifically, Kartapolov said the series is in place to manipulate “the public consciousness and especially young people” to oppose the Russian government. He also noted that the series is “aimed at encouraging active protest activity and dissatisfaction with the country’s authorities among young people.” He views it as a ploy against Russia.
As the Interfax article pointed out, Metal Gear is a Japanese game that was created by Hideo Kojima in 1987. The series offers critiques of not just the U.S. government, but the governments of other countries. These fictional stories feature supernatural and nonsensical elements, but are still somewhat grounded in reality.
For example, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the PS2 takes place during the Cold War-era Soviet Union, while Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is set during a realistic version of the Soviet-Afghan War in 1984. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty tells the story of a group known as The Patriots, which attempts to control the U.S. government by using AI.
Metal Gear is a wildly popular franchise, spanning decades of games with some of the most beloved stories in video games. Most recently, Metal Gear Solid V released in 2015 to critical acclaim, garnering praise from critics from various outlets.
The future of the series seems to be halted for now, as its creator was fired by Konami shortly after shipping The Phantom Pain. Kojima is now working on a new project, Death Stranding, which is supposed to launch later in the fall of 2019.
