Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 launches on 27 August 2026 with two main games — Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker — plus Metal Gear: Ghost Babel as bonus content. It arrives on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam.
Every game included in Master Collection Vol. 2
The headline number is two playable main games and one bonus title. That is a smaller package than Vol. 1, which carried the first three numbered Metal Gear Solid games plus the two MSX originals — but the two here are the ones that were hardest to get hold of.
| Title | Original release | Version in the collection |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | 2008, PlayStation 3 | The PS3 original, with a higher internal resolution, a raised maximum frame rate and customisable button controls |
| Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | 2010, PSP | The HD Collection version, with customisable button controls |
| Metal Gear: Ghost Babel | 2000, Game Boy Color | Bonus content, with screen filters, pixel-perfect display options, a rewind function and customisable button controls |
Alongside the games, the collection bundles a set of digital extras: the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database, plus a screenplay book and a master book for each of the two main titles. The screenplay books carry the in-game text; the master books cover story and character background. The digital edition also includes Metal Gear Solid: Digital Soundtrack Vol. 2.
How that compares to Vol. 1
Vol. 1, released 24 October 2023, was the larger box by raw count. Between them the two volumes cover most of the series’ chronology, though not all of it — Portable Ops (2006) still sits in the Big Boss timeline between Snake Eater and Peace Walker, and appears in neither volume:
| Vol. 1 (2023) | Vol. 2 (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Main games | Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid, MGS2: Sons of Liberty, MGS3: Snake Eater | MGS4: Guns of the Patriots, MGS: Peace Walker |
| Bonus content | VR Missions / Special Missions, both regional versions of Metal Gear, Snake’s Revenge, two digital graphic novels | Metal Gear: Ghost Babel |
| Digital extras | Screenplay and master books, digital soundtrack | MGS4 Database, screenplay and master books, Digital Soundtrack Vol. 2 |
| Platforms | PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Switch | Switch 2, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam |
The count is misleading, though. Every one of Vol. 1’s five main games had been reissued somewhere before, whether on the HD Collection, as a PS1 Classic or bundled into an earlier release. In Vol. 2, one of the two had never been available anywhere at all — which is the whole story of this release.
Why this release matters: MGS4 has been stuck on PS3 for 18 years
If you only take one thing from this collection, make it this one. Metal Gear Solid 4 came out in June 2008 and, until 27 August 2026, had never been ported, remastered or re-released in any form. No PS4 version, no PC version, no remaster. For eighteen years, the only way to play the game that closes out Solid Snake’s story was to own a PlayStation 3.
That makes it an unusual gap in an otherwise heavily re-released series. Nearly every other mainline entry has been reissued at least once — often several times. MGS4 simply never moved, and Konami has publicly acknowledged the situation in the years since.
The reason is more interesting than the usual platform-deal story. There was no exclusivity arrangement forcing Konami’s hand. According to accounts from former Konami staff, Hideo Kojima simply did not want to port it — his management would have approved an Xbox 360 version, and he chose not to make one. The game stayed on PS3 because of a creative decision, not a contract.
Which is why this is the genuinely notable part of Vol. 2: it is not a nicer version of something you can already play. It is the first time MGS4 has existed anywhere other than the PS3, and its first appearance on a Nintendo or Xbox platform in the series’ history.
The bonus game is not the one most people assume
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel is listed as bonus content, and it is the item in this package most likely to be misread. Two things trip people up.
First, it is not a port of the 1998 PlayStation Metal Gear Solid, despite arriving two years later on a handheld and looking like a demake of it. It is an original game, built specifically for Game Boy Color, with its own story. It is also non-canon — an alternate sequel to the 1987 MSX Metal Gear that ignores the events of MGS entirely.
Second, the naming. In Japan it was Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. Everywhere else it shipped as plain Metal Gear Solid, which is why the Game Boy Color box art above carries the MGS logo and no mention of Ghost Babel at all. Kojima has said the project existed because Konami’s European arm asked for a Game Boy Color version of MGS after strong pre-release interest there.
It has also been effectively unavailable since 2000 — no Virtual Console release, and no Konami collection until this one. For a game that has spent twenty-six years out of print, “bonus content” undersells what it is doing here.
What Peace Walker brings back
Peace Walker appears here in its HD Collection form rather than the original PSP build, so it is the version most people will already recognise. The notable addition is multiplayer: Konami has confirmed the collection includes online CO-OPS for two to four players and VERSUS OPS for up to six, per the PlayStation Blog announcement.
That matters because Peace Walker was built around co-op in a way the numbered games were not — several late-game boss encounters were balanced with a second player in mind and are notably punishing alone.
Platforms and pre-order bonuses
The platform list is worth stating precisely, because coverage of the February 2026 PlayStation State of Play reveal understandably framed it as a PS5 release. It is not PS5-only. Konami’s own announcement lists five platforms:
| Platform | Included |
|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch 2 | Yes |
| Nintendo Switch | Yes |
| PlayStation 5 | Yes |
| Xbox Series X|S | Yes |
| Steam (PC) | Yes |
| PlayStation 4 / Xbox One | No — not listed |
On bonuses, there are two separate things people conflate:
- Pre-order bonus: a “Cardboard Camouflage” uniform for MGS4 and a cardboard-themed uniform for Peace Walker.
- Vol. 1 save-data bonus: separate gold-themed items for both games, granted if you have save data from Master Collection Vol. 1 on the same system.
The second is not a pre-order reward and does not expire with the pre-order window — it is tied to owning and having played Vol. 1.
If you are working out where this sits in the wider series, our guides to playing God of War in order and the Batman Arkham games in order cover the same problem for two other long-running PlayStation-era franchises. And for the Switch 2 side of this, we looked at how Elden Ring’s Switch 2 edition handles the same jump.
Frequently Asked Questions
What games are in Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2?
Two main games and one bonus title: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in its HD Collection form, and Metal Gear: Ghost Babel as bonus content. Digital extras include the MGS4 Database, screenplay and master books for both main games, and Digital Soundtrack Vol. 2.
When does Master Collection Vol. 2 release?
27 August 2026, on all platforms simultaneously.
What platforms is Master Collection Vol. 2 on?
Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam. It was revealed during a PlayStation State of Play in February 2026, which led to some early coverage treating it as PS5-only. There is no PS4 or Xbox One version listed.
Is this the first time Metal Gear Solid 4 has been re-released?
Yes. MGS4 launched on PlayStation 3 in June 2008 and was never ported, remastered or re-released in the eighteen years since. This collection is its first appearance on any other platform, and its first ever on Nintendo or Xbox hardware.
Is Metal Gear: Ghost Babel the same as the PlayStation Metal Gear Solid?
No. Ghost Babel is an original Game Boy Color game from 2000, not a port of the 1998 PlayStation title. It is a non-canon alternate sequel to the MSX Metal Gear. It was released outside Japan under the name Metal Gear Solid, which is the source of most of the confusion.
