Konami releases Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance on GOG but bizarrely stops the Japanese game being sold in Japan

metal gear rising revengeance
(Image credit: Konami)

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a straight-up belter. It had a slightly troubled development, as a longtime Kojima Productions joint that was eventually outsourced to co-developer PlatinumGames to put the action in, but what arrived in 2013 was one of the best and most OTT hack-and-slash romps ever made. Seriously: if you haven't bodyslammed a Metal Gear then ran up it and sliced the whole damn thing in half with a magic cybersword, you missed out.

Publisher Konami is currently engaged in its own Metal Gear salvage project, the first step of which was the re-release of many classic games as MGS: The Master Collection Volume 1, and the next being the upcoming MGS3 remake, MGS Delta: Snake Eater. A minor beat in this has been the release of MGR: Revengeance on the DRM-free storefront GOG: the game was made available on July 4 (it has been available on Steam since early 2014).

This announcement was particularly noted by Japanese players and with good reason. MGR: Revengeance has only ever been available on PS3 in Japan, the original target platform, though worldwide has also been released on Xbox 360 and PC. The Steam version has never been available for purchase in Japan. But the GOG version was!

For almost one hour, anyway. The GOG version of MGR: Revengeance launched on July 4 and was available for purchase in Japan, but removed shortly afterwards. Konami subsequently issued a statement to Japanese outlet Game*Spark saying: "There was a setting error on the GOG side, so the game was temporarily available for purchase in some Asian regions. We apologize for any confusion."

Which doesn't really address the reasons why, though I would guess one factor may be an old PlayStation exclusivity clause. Metal Gear was for a time the biggest PlayStation exclusive around and, even though most of those games have subsequently found their way to other platforms, some major parts of the series remain locked to PlayStation platforms. Most notably, Sony went all-in on Metal Gear with PlayStation 3 and MGS4 remains locked to that platform. So it's very possible there's some sort of historical deal whereby, in Japan, MGR: Revengeance was only made available on PS3. 

But I emphasise that this is guesswork, done in the absence of an official Konami explanation. It may well be something else, such as Konami intending to include the title in The Master Collection Volume 2 and wanting that to be the first occasion where Japanese players can buy the title on PC.

Japanese players are used to this. It is unfortunately common for Japanese publishers to region-lock digital availability of their titles in this way, a practice that some believe is a hangover from the days where physical retail was a much more important element of sales, and such decisions could be seen as protecting that distribution channel.

Whether such practices make any sense in 2024 is debatable, but they continue regardless, and it's a phenomenon widespread enough to have its own terminology: Omakuni. This slang is derived from the Japanese phrase for "we're not selling it in your country" and is used widely to refer to Steam games that publishers won't allow to be sold in Japan, or sell with serious restrictions that crimp the experience (for example, no Japanese language support).

Either way: sucks to be a Japanese Metal Gear fan on this occasion. It does seem bananas that a Japanese-developed game in a classic Japanese series is available globally on PC, but Japanese players can only access it with a PlayStation 3, hardware that is now two generations old and stopped production in 2017.  I've contacted Konami for comment and will update with any response.

Rich Stanton
Senior Editor

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

Read more
Metal Gear Solid Delta
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater finally has a confirmed release date: August 28
Naked Snake crouchwalks through foliage.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater system requirements are here, and it's yet another game that requires an RTX graphics card and tonnes of free storage to play
Aloy
Sony gets people scratching their heads after region-locking purchases of Horizon Forbidden West, 10 entire months after its initial release
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows will be censored in Japan to remove dismemberment and decapitations
BloodbornePSX - A hunter standing in front of a lantern
Sony enforcers execute a legal visceral attack on the BloodbornePSX demake, continuing its mission to eradicate all traces of FromSoft's beloved RPG on PC
Rise of the Ronin review
Rise of the Ronin review
Latest in Action
Nova, a hero from Marvel Comics, smolders at the camera while surrounded by flames.
The team behind Shredder's Revenge has a Marvel beat 'em up on the way with a whopping 15 characters and unsurprisingly gorgeous pixel art
The First Berserker: Khazan tips - Khazan
10 The First Berserker: Khazan tips to smash your foes
Crysis hero Prophet running down a beach while under fire
Crysis Remastered Trilogy activates maximum value mode as upgraded version of the legendary, hardware-crushing FPS series is currently 60% off
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Blade Phantom
How to claim The First Berserker: Khazan pre-order bonus and deluxe edition DLC
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
Latest in News
Greedfall 2
Greedfall 2 aims to turn around a disastrous early access launch with a combat overhaul and a big new boat
Nova, a hero from Marvel Comics, smolders at the camera while surrounded by flames.
The team behind Shredder's Revenge has a Marvel beat 'em up on the way with a whopping 15 characters and unsurprisingly gorgeous pixel art
Kinich, a character in Genshin Impact, stands prepared to brawl with an enemy.
'Diabolical': Genshin Impact's English cast gives new VO the cold shoulder after he frames replacing a striking actor as an 'opportunity to carry the flame'
An image of Alan Wake from Alan Wake 2's rock opera-style song, Herald of Darkness, lifting a hand to the sky while the other bundles on his chest.
Epic’s 2025 Spring Sale kicks off with some big discounts on recent hits and a pair of cat-themed giveaways
An army of Grand Cathay, including infantry, cavalry, and warmachines, from the tabletop wargame Warhammer: The Old World.
After a not-so-subtle tease 2 months ago, and 4 years since it was originally announced, Grand Cathay from Total War: Warhammer 3 is finally coming to the tabletop wargame
1X Technologies humanoid robot, the Neo Gamma, standing alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang is wearing an ERL-made studded leather jacket.
Humanoid robot Neo Gamma gifts Nvidia CEO a studded leather jacket and may even be able to one day wash up a cup without dropping it