[1][2] Survive takes place between the events of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and follows the Captain, an MSF soldier who enters a parallel dimension and establishes a local command center to unravel the mysteries of a strange virus that turns people into zombie-like creatures.

Pre-release reception of Metal Gear Survive was generally negative, in response to its design and recent business decisions from Konami.

Metal Gear Survive tasks players with managing thirst and hunger by scavenging for water and hunting animals for food.

Due to the difficulty of attacking enemies head-on, players are encouraged to use a device that allows them to erect various fences, barricades and other structures.

Players are able to upgrade their base camp by building defences, advanced crafting stations, farms, animal cages, and rainwater collectors.

Eventually, players can initiate a tower defence segment at base camp, allowing them to defend against attacks and earn rewards.

A UN member takes the body of a soldier, who had avoided being sucked into a wormhole that had opened above Mother Base shortly after the incident but had severed their arm when it closed.

The soldier was chosen due to the Mother Base wormhole infecting him with an organism from Dite, restoring their arm but putting them at risk of becoming a zombie-like Wanderer.

They find Base Camp abandoned except for Virgil AT-9, an artificial intelligence from the Charon Corps, an investigation team previously sent to Dite.

Virgil eventually generates a wormhole to transport the group back to Earth, but cannot maintain it without Iris, a source of energy.

They are contacted by Joseph Gruen, head of Wardenclyffe Section, claiming that Goodluck acted against orders in orchestrating the Captain's mission, before committing suicide.

They are transported to a forested area of Dite instead of Earth and deduce Gruen desired the Lord of Dust to use for its vast source of energy.

Having worked his way into Wardenclyffe Section, he made his recordings for the Charon Corps and potential survivors to receive in the hope they could destroy the Lord of Dust.

An after-credits scene shows a damaged Virgil launching from the Lord of Dust's body and returning to Base Camp, explaining to the Captain that it is still functional and will be able to continue assisting them in their mission.

[1] It was not the first time the concept of a zombie game was toyed with, as Hideo Kojima said on 29 April 2013 that he always wanted to make one during Metal Gear Solid V's development,[5] and Kojima reportedly requested to Platinum Games that the sequel to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance have Gray Fox fighting against nanomachine-empowered zombies.

[1] Konami Europe president Tomotada Tashiro described Metal Gear Survive as a "fresh take on the series' famed stealth elements", with a "unique co-op setting that is designed for a truly engrossing multiplayer experience.

[11][12] Metal Gear Survive received a generally negative response following its announcement, in part due to the controversies surrounding Konami's recent business decisions and Kojima's departure from the company.

Complaints focused on the game's genre and theme (being branded as "generic" as it revolved around fighting zombie-like enemies through co-op and multiplayer), recycled assets from Metal Gear Solid V, microtransactions, constant internet connection requirement and the departure from the general feel of previous Metal Gear games.

[32] As of 2018, Konami's earnings report did not mention Survive's total sales, unlike the previous entries in the series and other games made by the company.