‘Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’ Won’t Support Pre-Loading On PC But Will On Console

The upcoming title from Konami, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, won’t support what its own community manager calls a “pretty common practice” on PC, but will on console. Metal Gear Solid V will not be available for “pre-loading” on the PC version, but console versions will support the feature.

Speaking with a fan on Twitter, Metal Gear community manager Robert Allen Peeler replied to a fan’s question regarding pre-loading Metal Gear Solid V on PC.

@suPirman unfortunately PC Steam will not have a preload option, however players will be able to preload on console

— Robert Allen Peeler (@popcicle) August 19, 2015

Peeler then followed that up with some tweets clarifying the answer. According to Peeler, the offer to obtain Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes free with a pre-purchase of The Phantom Pain will be good till 10 a.m., however, players can download and play Metal Gear Solid V before that. While the download won’t be available to PC players till September 1, the game will unlock at New Zealand time. No exact unlock time is given, but it is implied that players who pre-purchased the game will be able to start downloading and playing on August 31 here in the United States.

While the console versions of Metal Gear Solid V do support pre-loading the game, they won’t unlock until September 1 here in the States at 12:01 a.m. EDT/August 31 9:01 p.m. PDT.

Pre-loading a game is a common practice and usually a reason why some players pre-order games so that they can download the game files early and play right at launch. No exact reason for why the PC version of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain would not support pre-load was given, which may be bad news for players who have slow internet connections, as they may not be able to play the game relatively soon after the game launches.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has stayed in the news lately, though not necessarily for what the game itself is doing, but rather the goings-on between publisher Konami and famed Metal Gear creator and game developer Hideo Kojima. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Konami has made headlines thanks to reports filtering out that the work environment at Konami has been “toxic,” as well as Hideo Kojima’s studio being taken off the cover art of Metal Gear Solid V quietly before the game launches next month.

What are your thoughts on pre-loading support, or lack thereof, with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Konami]