"If I were to put it in Hollywood movie terms, the prologue, that is Ground Zeroes, would be similar to the first 10-15 minutes that are meant to ‘captivate’ [the audience]," he explained.

"At first, something will happen, then the title will appear like ‘bam!’ and then nine years later, a big event will be the start [of Metal Gear Solid V]. That’s how the story will be connected. As far as the game itself goes, The Phantom Pain will take place in an immense open world map, while Ground Zeroes takes place in a smaller open world.

"It would’ve actually been better to release it all at once, but by the way things are going, it appears likely that Phantom Pain will be coming out around the time the PlayStation 4 becomes more spread out. That means we would’ve had to make people wait a while longer."

Kojima explained that while the steady stream of info about the game and the FOX engine has convinced some people that the release of MGS V can't be too far off, this isn't the case. The good news is it's the size of Phantom Pain that's making it take so long to perfect.

"The Phantom Pain has enormous volume, so it will require much more time," he explained. "So, together with the marketing staff, we consulted ‘what ifs’ and such, and came to the decision of allowing fans to at least play the prologue, ahead of time. We want to offer it for as cheap as possible, so at first we thought about making it as a download only; however, after thinking about people around the world, and how some places don’t have the best connectivity, we’re preparing a physical version."

Alongside the obvious benefits of having a better chance of understanding the events of Metal Gear Solid V if you play Ground Zeroes, Kojima also teased that anyone who has a save file for the prologue when they boot up Phantom Pain will get a little treat. What it is, he didn't divulge.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is coming to PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360 in spring 2014.