Hideo Kojima enjoys toying with his fan base. The Metal Gear creator's track record of surprises includes swapping out the legendary Solid Snake with a new rookie protagonist and forming a fake development studio to mislead gamers. Kojima’s history of hijinks has been in full swing on the road leading to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and its prologue, Ground Zeroes. Game Informer traveled to Kojima Productions' headquarters in Tokyo, Japan to cut through MGS V’s shroud of mystery.

Game Informer’s three-part cover story is divided into sections focusing on the history and future of Kojima, Ground Zeroes, and The Phantom Pain. We had four hours of exclusive hands-on time with Ground Zeroes, which we used to play through the main mission and experiment with extra modes. For The Phantom Pain, we have new details straight from Kojima and a host of gorgeous new screenshots showing off Kojima Productions' Fox Engine. Our massive 20-page Metal Gear blowout is the perfect way to get ready for Ground Zeroes’ March 18 release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, as well as learn what to look forward to with The Phantom Pain.

The cover image of Snake/Big Boss below is new, unique art from talented Metal Gear Solid artist, Yoji Shinkawa.

On top of our exclusive Metal Gear Solid V content, the March issue is packed with a host of new features and hands-on previews. An in-depth article explores the history of YouTube’s popular “Let’s Play” shows. The Black Mesa Modification Team shares the challenging development history of its Half-Life remake. Following up on last month’s Top 50 Games of 2013, we reflect on the greatest mobile games from the second half of last year. We also have new previews of Dark Souls II, Dying Light, Elder Scrolls Online, and more.

Print subscribers can watch for their issues to arrive in the coming days. If you subscribe digitally, your March issue will be available later today on PC/Mac, iPad, Android, and Google Play. You can also get the latest issue through third-party apps on Nook, Kindle, and Zinio starting tomorrow. To switch your print subscription to digital, click here, or to create a new subscription to the digital edition, click here.

Our deluge of Metal Gear Solid V coverage doesn’t end with the cover story. Readers can look forward to an entire month of bonus online coverage at gameinformer.com, including video interviews with Kojima Productions' art director Yoji Shinkawa, Konami’s worldwide technology director Julein Merceron, and Kojima himself. We also have extended hands-on impressions of Ground Zeroes and exclusive articles on the Metal Gear Solid series. Bookmark our coverage hub so you don’t miss out on all the great stuff coming your way – click the link banner below to visit the page.

For a sneak peek at what to expect in our month of exclusive features, check out our Metal Gear Solid V coverage trailer below or on YouTube.

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