'Metal Gear Survive' Beta: Play Newest 'Metal Gear' Free In January

The gaming world was abuzz last week with the latest trailer for “Death Stranding,” the newest game from enigmatic game designer Hideo Kojima. However, the series Kojima created and worked on for decades before his messy divorce with publisher Konami in 2015 is not dead yet. One could -- appropriately -- compare it to a zombie.

The next game in the long-running and deeply popular “Metal Gear” series is “Metal Gear Survive.” It is a zombie-themed shooter with an emphasis on cooperative multiplayer. If that is the sort of thing that interests you, there is good news: Players will be able to try it out for free in the near future.

To go along with news of the multiplayer beta, Konami also released a video showing off the game’s single player campaign. It will feature base-building, hunting, crafting and more. The premise of the game is silly, as it takes place in an alternate universe where a wormhole opened up at the end of “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes,” which brought a bunch of anonymous soldiers to another dimension full of zombies. Their goal is to get out, of course.

The original trailer for “Metal Gear Survive” in 2016 caused some outrage online because, in the complex public battle between Hideo Kojima and Konami, the gaming populace largely sided with Kojima. It also does not help that the game seemingly does not feature any major characters from the series, instead focusing on more generic soldiers. Some view “Metal Gear Survive” as a bastardization of the “Metal Gear” franchise because it is the first game made after Kojima left the company. However, for fans of “Metal Gear,” it is all they will likely get in the foreseeable future.

This is also one of the only major upcoming video games from Konami. The once-prominent Japanese video game publisher spent the last couple of years restructuring its business plans away from console video games and towards more profitable ventures, like mobile games and gambling. Eurogamer reported in February that the move has paid off for Konami.

“Metal Gear Survive” launches on Feb. 20 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.