Updates to this story via comments from Konami have been made inline below. The headline has been changed to reflect conflicting reports between Konami's statement and the information available in-game.

[Update: Upon the game's release, new details have emerged regarding Metal Gear Solid 5's microtransactions model, and how they work.]



In Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, players are able use various resources acquired within the game to facilitate the construction of an off-shore base. But in order to participate in the online, multiplayer Forward Operating Base (FOB) mode, where players attack each other's bases, they must first use currency, either in-game or real-world, to access that content.

An earlier version of this article stated that that content is only accessible through a pay wall, as shown via the in-game menu screen above from the final, retail version of the game. However, players will encounter the screen above -- which states "Spend MB Coins (paid service) to purchase waters -- if they attempt to access FOB content while offline (or while the servers are not online). Although you don't earn MB coins during normal, single-player gameplay, Konami has since explained how that content will be made available once the game's servers go live on September 1.

"To clarify, the initial FOB -- which includes the FOB command platform and all sub-platforms -- is not behind a Mother Base coin paywall. Maintaining other FOBs past the initial set of FOB platforms can be purchased with Mother Base coins. More information regarding the payment model for FOB will be provided closer to launch."

So, other menu options (which will only come up when online) will allow players to spend in-game resources to access FOB content.

Konami had also said previously that the FOB mode would be "fully accessible at launch and the microtransaction layer to that specific feature in the game primarily acts as an accelerator." And Konami producer Kenichiro Imaizumi has also taken to Twitter to clarify MB Coins, the currency driving the gameplay of the F.O.B. multiplayer mode, can be earned in ways other than paying real world money for them.



You can make money by completing missions on single campaign mode. There are other ways to make money as well. https://t.co/PAUP9mzOu4 — Ken-ichiro Imaizumi (@Ken1555) August 10, 2015

The Forward Operating Base PvP modes are separate from Metal Gear Online, which is a more expansive mutliplayer mode for the game. Konami initially said Metal Gear Online would launch alongside The Phantom Pain, but later said the competitive multiplayer mode would instead become available on October 6 on consoles and sometime in January 2016 on PC.

Konami has said Metal Gear Online won't cost anything extra. Although very little is known about it, previous details have revealed it will have a class system, while characters such as Venom Snake and Ocelot will make an appearance.

GameSpot's Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain review awarded the game a 10. The review will be updated after the F.O.B. mode goes live on September 1.