Metal Gear Solid is an action-adventure video game with stealth based elements developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation. Written, designed, directed and produced by Hideo Kojima the game was originally planned in 1994 for release on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, however after the 3DO was discontinued, development shifted to the Sony PlayStation.

Development for the game began in mid-1995 with the goal in mind to make it as accurate and realistic as possible while making the game enjoyable and tense. In the early stages of development, the Huntington Beach SWAT team educated the development team with vehicles, weapons, and explosives demonstrations. Weapons expert Motosada Mori was also utilized as a technical adviser and the development team visited Fort Irwin and had firing sessions at Stembridge Gun Rentals.

The game was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show in 1996 and shown in more detail at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 1997. The game follows Solid Snake, a soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special forces unit. Snake must liberate two hostages, the head of DARPA and the president of a major arms manufacturer, confront the terrorists, and stop them from launching a nuclear strike.

Konami invested heavily in the title by backing it with an $8 million promotional campaign which included television, magazine advertisements, in-store demonstrations and a demo giveaway with an estimated 12 million demo disc for the game being distributed in 1998. Metal gear Solid was critically acclaimed upon release and was regarded as one of the greatest and most influential games at the time. It would go on to sell over six million units and helped popularize the stealth genre and in-engine cinematic cutscenes.