Konami temporarily removes Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 from digital stores

In the Metal Gear Portal Site, Konami announced the temporary removal of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 from digital stores.

According to Konami, the main issue comes from having to renew the licenses “for select historical archive footage used in-game.”

Because of the specific licenses, the sale of various versions and bundles that contain both games have been temporarily suspended:

・PlayStation 3 METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
・PlayStation 3 METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
・PlayStation 3 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION
・PlayStation Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
・PlayStation Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
・PlayStation Vita METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
・PlayStation Now METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
・Xbox 360 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION: 2 & 3
・Nintendo 3DS METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D
・GOG.com METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SUBSTANCE
・NVIDIA® SHIELD METAL GEAR SOLID 2 HD for SHIELD TV
・NVIDIA® SHIELD METAL GEAR SOLID 3 HD for SHIELD TV

“We sincerely ask for your patience and understanding as we work towards making these products available for purchase once again,” says the post.

Konami did not say what specific content in both titles are the cause of the temporary removal.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was first released on November 13, 2001, for the PlayStation 3. The following title, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, made its debut on November 17, 2004.

[Source]: Konami: 2021.11.07 [Important Notification] 【重要なお知らせ】Temporary removal of METAL GEAR SOLID 2 and METAL GEAR SOLID 3 from digital storefronts – METAL GEAR SOLID 2 / METAL GEAR SOLID 3の一時販売停止について – [Archive].