Jim Piddock (Major Zero) Joins David Hayter Among Those Not Returning to 'Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'

The entire Metal Gear fancies was pretty upset when Konami revealed that David Hayter, long time voice actor and proponent of the MGS franchise would not be returning for future entries, including the now released Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. It’s never been clear why Konami replaced Hayter though many had assumed it was due to budgeting concerns. With Hayter having reprised his roll for more than 10 entries, the decision was always baffling and even more jarring when it was revealed that Kiefer Sutherland would replace the fan favorite, considering he himself doesn’t carry a cheap price tag.

Now fans have one less character to look forward to and Jim Piddock, aka Major Zero has revealed that he too will not be coming back when Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is released in 2015. Details after the jump.

According to Piddock when asked on Twitter if he would return in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, he had this to say:

@Khoawrites Unlikely, unless they increase their derisory offer to slightly less derisory!

— Jim Piddock (@realjimpiddock) November 10, 2014

It’s unfortunate for fans if Konami is playing the cheap card in on what will already be a game that’s likely spared little expensive. MGS series has always been known for cutting edge graphics, Hollywood composed music by Harry Gregson-Williams, and great voice acting. The likelihood that the asking price for Piddock was too high and would have been the culprit which made the production too expensive is highly unlikely. Instead, it seems like Konami and Hideo Kojima saw this as an opportunity to cut old ties and reboot the franchise in some ways, including cutting rising salaries which is a shame.

While I found Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes enjoyable for the most part, thanks to the jarring new voice for Snake by Sutherland, I could never get into the game. After all, I’ve been used to seeing Snake and hearing him through David Hayter and for it to be suddenly drastically different simply didn’t sit well for me. Others baffled by the decision to not include David Hayter include Mae West, better known as Meryl Silverburgh.