‘METAL GEAR SOLID 5: GROUND ZEROES’ dropping in SPRING 2014.

When Kojima and his Espionage Cabal announced that Ground Zeroes was a prologue to MGS5: Phantom Pain, I didn’t realize they meant it literally. Ground Zeroes is dropping next year, by itself, for half the price of a new game.

Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, the prologue to the next installment in Hideo Kojima’s action stealth game, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, will be released in spring 2014, Konami revealed today.

The Ground Zeroes prologue will include a “concentrated story mode” that sets up the events and introduces players to the new gameplay elements that will appear in the The Phantom Pain. Set in Cuba, it will follow protagonist Big Boss as he infiltrates a prison camp during a rescue mission. Big Boss will be able to call in help when he’s behind enemy lines, highlighting features new to the Metal Gear universe set to be released in Metal Gear Solid 5.

Ground Zeroes will be available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at retail for $29.99 or as a $19.99 download. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will be available as $29.99 downloads.

Ground Zeroes‘ open-world follow-up, The Phantom Pain, will be released at a later, unconfirmed date on the same platforms.

[Polygon]