Metal Gear Solid board game delayed another year to 2021

Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game has been delayed, publisher IDW Games announced Friday. Interested parties now shouldn’t expect to get this cardboard box in their hands until summer 2021.

This isn’t the first time that the hotly anticipated game from Specter Ops developer Emerson Matsuuchi has been delayed. In November 2019, IDW announced that it was pushing the game’s release to summer 2020. In a statement to pre-order customers on Friday, the publisher pushed back that estimate by a full year.

“The big question you probably have right now is ‘why?’” said IDW. “The answer is simple. We will not compromise our standards for the quality of game our community deserves. We are steadfastly committed to working with acclaimed designer Emerson Matsuuchi to bring his vision for this title to life on the tabletop no matter how much time it takes. Before you start to worry about the possibility of another delay, we are pleased to share that the game is entering its final round of playtesting this week!”

The developers also offered an update on the game’s final pricing, which will be slightly higher than anticipated. However, the price will not go up for any current backers, who paid $109 for their pre-orders.

“After additional development work,” the statement said, “we’ve determined that moving forward, the game will be $125. So, you’ll be saving $16 for your early support!”

IDW promised more updates coming in “the next few months,” including “gameplay coverage, components, and missions,” and told those who had pre-ordered to expect an invite to a virtual edition of the game in Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia in March 2021.