Metal Gear is a stealth action video game series created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on July 12, 1987 with Metal Gear and is one of Konami's best-selling franchises, with over 26.5 million units sold. The games take place in a semi-fictional universe with stories that involve a special forces agent (Solid Snake in most games) who is forced to destroy the latest incarnation of the superweapon Metal Gear, as well as having to rescue various hostages and neutralize certain renegade units in the process. Metal Gear titles have been released on numerous video game consoles, handheld game consoles, and personal computer platforms. Related novels, comics, and other dramatizations have also been released. A few of the series' main characters h