Hideo Kojima thanks fans and developers that made Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain possible

With the release of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Metal Gear creator and game director Hideo Kojima has stepped forward to talk about the game, how much the series meant to him, speak with the main components of the game, and ultimately thank fans.

The entirety of this video feels like a goodbye from Kojima (and the fact that people speak in the past tense in the video, saying "it was an honor"), more than a thank and it could very-well be the case, since his split with Konami back in March. There's a portion of the video where he notes that he never imagined to make a game over 28 years, and that every chapter felt like it could have been the last.

In the video, Kojima speaks with Kyle Cooper, who worked on the game's concept and design, with music composer Justin Burnett, and the game's voice actors – Troy Baker being one of them. Unfortunately, the man that has voiced Snake for the last 15 years – David Hayter – did not make an appearance in the video.

In one particularly emotionally crushing part of the video, Kojima visits the family of Sean Gillespie to hand deliver signed copies of the game to them. Kojima had made an honorary member of the Metal Gear Team after learning that Sean had cancer and loved the series.

Sean passed away in February —

The Phantom Pain released today.