Metal Gear Online to be switched off in June

By Tom Phillips Published 14 February, 2012

Konami to tranquilise service for good.

Metal Gear Solid 4 multiplayer spin-off Metal Gear Online will be switched off on 12th June, publisher Konami has announced.

The PlayStation 3 stealth-'em-up service is to be culled on its birthday. It will have lived for exactly four years.

Konami will begin shutting MGO's services down as soon as next month. The MGO Online shop will close its online doors for the last time on 21st March.

Metal Gear Online will then stop accepting new registrations from 24th April. From that date, existing expansion packs and shop content will be made available for free.

Finally, the plug will be pulled on 12th June at 11.59pm Japan time.

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About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 3 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • liamaland #1 3 months ago

    R.I.P MGO :(

  • J0rdan_KZ #2 3 months ago

    Konami kinda killed MGO right out of the gate when they basically said:

    "We don't understand online gaming what so ever."
    "Please sign up for three different online accounts just to play a single game."

  • DavidBoring #3 3 months ago

    boo - i really like MGO. havent played it in a whule though. mostly because i would have to download some patches from konamis super slow servers

  • Andrefpvs #4 3 months ago

    Last chance to play Team Sneaking, people. It's a really unique multiplayer mode.

    Let's hope for MGO3 in MGS5.

  • Widge #5 3 months ago

    @J0rdan_KZ

    That. So obtuse.

  • sonicyoda #6 3 months ago

    @frod. They're closing a pretty inactive service like they do on any game that loses activity. Stop being a fan-tard.

  • flameboy84 #7 3 months ago

    Obviously not played it for a long long long time but post completing Metal Gear Solid 4 I really did enjoy playing this a lot so it is a shame to see it go perhaps will have one last hara at some point.

  • Zozzilla #8 3 months ago

    @frod. That's like saying "Lineage servers are being closed in the West. Hurr hurr Microsoft are so shite."

  • miiiguel #9 3 months ago

    The joy of dedicated online servers...

  • EvilAspirin #10 3 months ago

    I had quite a lot of fun with it back when it first released. I do remember one game which I think started off as a Team Deathmatch but quickly became 1 v 4 as people dropped out, with me being the solitary 1. Remarkably I actually won the match, perhaps due to the fact I was playing it like Metal Gear Solid, staying out of sight and picking people off.

    Not a bad game, but as others have mentioned far too much hassle to sign in and far too slow to connect. That and the infamous "double death" thing near the start of its life put a lot of people off.

  • higgins78 #11 3 months ago

    @sonicyoda

    Rubbish! This is nothing about being a "fan-turd", I believe more effort should have been placed promoting and improving what is the best part of owning MGS4, the main game a mish-mash of some glorious set-pieces filtered with some truly mind-numbing "dialogue". Shame on Konami for letting go of what could have made a great innovator...

  • hedges1001 #12 3 months ago

    hmm i traded in my MGS4 a while ago but i do admit that MGO is probably one of the best online experiences i had (when i eventually got into a server)

  • Duke_Red #13 3 months ago

    RIP

    It was a unique multiplayer. The CQC was great, which no other game does, mixed with guns

  • anthonypappa #14 3 months ago

    hope there are no online trophies blocked now :champ:

  • Ryze #15 3 months ago

    Fuck. I'd better hurry up and put the disc in the tray, followed by the Konami/Sony onlinefail hoop and hurdle jumping...

  • Ryze #16 3 months ago

    @higgins78

    +1

    They're probably trying to encourage everyone to buy the HD collection for Peace Walker online.

    Is it similar in any way? I never bothered on the PSP due to the controls.

  • Cappy #17 3 months ago

    @frod.

    Try playing Chrome Hounds online.

    It's on the 'superior' paid for service right? Therefore it's online...

  • bad09 #18 3 months ago

    MGO was fun but massively flawed in it's execution. Shame it's going but in all honestly about a month after MGS4 it was forgotten until this article by me because of the flawed execution. Let's hope lessons were learnt from it as it had potential.

  • ShiftBreaker #19 3 months ago

    And suddenly I remember that I've never played MGO in all the years I have owned MGS4.

  • wattsn26 #20 3 months ago

    I never really did like it the amount of time required to sign up for it alone was unnecessarily dumb seeing as how we already had a PSN ID, I don't blame them for switching it off.

  • Cappy #21 3 months ago

    @frod.

    It depends on how the online functionality is implemented, for a two player fighting game such as Rumble Roses it's highly likely to be peer to peer, hence no dedicated servers to switch off.

    The majority of online console games use peer to peer I believe.

  • wattsn26 #22 3 months ago

    @frod What are you talking about, the servers aren't even maintained by Sony, they were run by Konami, MGS4 was not a first party title.

    Secondly if you haven't noticed there are hundreds of online games for 360 that have been shut off due to lack of activity.

  • AnotherIdiot #23 3 months ago

    Thats the problem with online console games, when the servers inevitably get turned off, that piece of gaming history is gone. nobody can ever access it again. Atleast with PC games, users can often run their own servers. Although the trend is now against that thanks to the console companies shitting everything up.
    Edited by AnotherIdiot at 14/02/12 @ 15:33

  • coomber #24 3 months ago

    I put in a lot of hours with MGO. Great game, but the terrible lag and the glitches which Konami never bothered to fix killed it a long time ago for me.

  • Abdu@EG #25 3 months ago

    My fav online game. I am sad.

  • wanderingkid #26 3 months ago

    Truly sad, it's my fave MP. Well I had some great times at least thanks for the memories Kojima/Konami ! It live on in a sense with Peacewalker I suppose ; ;

  • JGDC74 #27 3 months ago

    This makes me very sad as this game was the first online multiplayer game I played. I have a question though. Is this being shut down in Japan as well or just the West? I ask because the versions of MGO released in the US and Europe (I have both versions) came with MGS4 whereas the Japanese version was a standalone buy. What's more, although players in Europe and the US had dropped considerably, there are still a lot of people playing the Japanese version (You can only play against people in that territory, so UK gamers cannot play Jap gamers, etc.). I know this as I have all 3 versions (and had to create an account for all 3!).
    Thanks, if anyone can answer this.
    I think we should petition to keep the servers on!

  • Kaminari #28 3 months ago

    Really, MGO had nothing to do with MGS in terms of gameplay.

  • JGDC74 #29 3 months ago

    Just to answer my own question, I see that they are shutting the Japanese version down as well. :-(
    Strange, as that version has many more people playing it.

  • levitate #30 3 months ago

    Metal Gear Online? I seriously did NOT know about that.

    Edit: Seriously? Negging me for not knowing it? Bunch of wankers, grow up ffs.
    Edited by levitate at 15/02/12 @ 15:19

  • Rens11 #31 3 months ago

    Stupid once you actually figured out how to create an account it was pretty decent online hope they stick in metal gear online on the vita hd collection

  • Bloobat #32 3 months ago

    @Andrefpvs By far my favourite multi-player experience this gen :) so unique and fun especially with friends!

  • Drygore #33 3 months ago

    @Eurocensor

    Indeed. But you forget about PS Plus, which in my opinion more than makes up for it!

    I enjoy both though :-)

  • Chakitty #34 3 months ago

    @J0rdan_KZ I switched it off once I had to sign into three separate accounts.

  • Collymilad #35 3 months ago

    I love the way a stupid fanboy makes a ridiculous statement about PSN, so people jump in and do exactly the same thing in reverse, making them look just as dumb.

    Stupid idiots.

    @Anotheridiot (how appropriate) - "Console companies" didn't shit anything up. There was more money to be made on consoles so your beloved PC devs jumped ship, that's why things changed. Fuck all to do with MS or Sony or anyone else. They didn't force anyone to do anything.
    Edited by Collymilad at 14/02/12 @ 19:10

  • RandomTerrain #36 3 months ago

    MGO is one of the best online games I've ever played. It's brilliant. So sad to see it turned off. I'll have to get in as many games as possible before June.
    I hope there is another MGO in a future MGS game.

  • Drygore #37 3 months ago

    @Collymilad
    You're right. But Eurocensor seem to jump in and troll on every Sony-related news text. I can understand that people get pissed off. Im no fanboy, own all consoles, but that idiot is starting to annoy the crap out of me, after seeing his trolling in different threads all day.

  • andywilkie35 #38 3 months ago

    Had some great games on MGO when it was possible to actually get in a game, and unfortunately impossible to play with friends. Was awesome though, even if PSN tried to stop me playing.

  • ipressbuttons #39 3 months ago

    They should make a PSN version of MGO

  • saintedd #40 3 months ago

    Nooooooooooooooooooooo Snakeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

  • ronecvan_is_here #41 3 months ago

    @Ryze No, and MGO was far better than the online on PW HD, even if logging in required countless patches and accounts to manage.

  • ronecvan_is_here #42 3 months ago

    @frod. Yes indeed, you glorifying your beloved company, makes everyones' day a joy seeing your shitty posts
    Edited by ronecvan_is_here at 15/02/12 @ 14:46

  • sourc0r #43 3 months ago

    they were stupid enough to separate players solely by the REGION CODE OF THEIR DISCS, so i never had the chance to play it - i bought the US version back then, the cover was.. i liked it better and was punished for it..

  • WiiStation360 #44 3 months ago

    NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! I'll miss you Metal Gear Online :cry:

  • WiiStation360 #45 3 months ago

    @frod. Are you an idiot? MGS4 never came out on Xbox 360...

  • WiiStation360 #46 3 months ago

    @frod. Get out of here already. You are one of the biggest fanboys I've seen.