Giant ‘Metal Gear’ mural has been removed after seven years

The giant portrait of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance protagonist Raiden in England has been replaced after seven years.

The mural, which adorned the side of the Aireside House on Aire St in Leeds, first went up in 2013, alongside similar ones in London and Liverpool. They were the work of artist collective EndoftheLine, as commissioned by the game’s publisher Konami.

“With a game of the stature of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, it is fitting to have its central hero looming over key cities via these stunning works of art,” said Brian Ayers, then-PR and marketing manager for Konami UK. “Yoji Shinkawa’s art is instantly recognisable, and Raiden’s presence in London, Leeds and Liverpool will have all the impact of the new game.”

The London and Liverpool ones were removed several years ago, but the one in Leeds stayed up, with fans even traveling all the way there just for a glimpse of it. However, the mural was finally repainted late last week, replaced by what seems to be a campaign for a fashion house.

Check out the original mural and what it looks like now below.

Rip to a legendary piece of artwork in leeds

This MGS4 mural has been here since the game launched, got recently painted over. pic.twitter.com/6eDnhR365K

— Kraker (@kraker2k) November 28, 2020

2013’s Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was a hack-and-slash spin-off of the long-running Metal Gear series, developed by PlatinumGames. The game’s lead writer Etsu Tamari has previously expressed interest in developing a sequel, although that now seems unlikely given Konami’s conflicts with franchise creator Hideo Kojima.

On the other hand, Kojima recently revealed that he and his studio, Kojima Productions, are working on its next game, following the release of Death Stranding in 2019. He recently announced that his company is looking for “best-in-class talent” to join the studio’s Tokyo office to work on a new project.