Before the top eight matches began, a message from Solid Snake, the main protagonist and spy in the Metal Gear series appeared on screen to share a message: “damn, that was some good ass Tekken.” Fans lost their minds, thinking that this could be a tease for one of their favorite characters entering the 3-D brawler. There’s already Akuma from Street Fighter in Tekken 7 meaning it isn’t completely unheard of to see unexpected cameos and Snake is already a key member of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster.
Turns out that Solid Snake will not be appearing in Tekken 7 and the whole thing was merely a gag meant to tease fans. The EVO Twitter account announced once the finals had completed that the whole segment was a “little joke” and it was not done with publisher Bandai Namco’s approval.
The voice actor for Solid Snake, David Hayter, tweeted that he was not okay with EVO using his voice without his permission. Konami, the developers of the Metal Gear Solid series were not “consulted” with, Hayter said. Konami has a complicated relationship with the Metal Gear franchise currently, with the series’ main auteur and figurehead, Hideo Kojima, leaving the company on complicated terms in 2015.
Many on Twitter have been flocking to Hayter’s side in this whole debacle. “EVO really messed up big time,” wrote one Twitter user. “You’d think they would at least get permission,” wrote another. What started out as a joke among EVO staff has turned into a much larger debacle with multiple different fighters in the ring.
Newsweek has contacted EVO who did not respond by publication time.
