Could The Phantom Pain land in FY15/16?

Following on from the release of Konami's latest financial results, it has been suggested that the launch of the much anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain might not happen until as late as 2016.

For the full fiscal year (ending March 31) Konami are projecting a drop in revenues (-7%) compared to last year and as well as a moderate operating income. But at least the numbers are still in black.

Market analyst David Gibson has speculated (via Twitter) that: "MGS5 could be released in FY3/2015 or FY3/2016 depending on the development stage," at the same time as confirming that "Konami admitting Ground Zeroes is a bit short".

While it's unlikely that the release of The Phantom Pain will be pushed back as far as 2016, Gibson's suggestion that we might not see the game until 2015 will have some fans of the series worried.

Gibson also reported that: "Konami budgeted to release 7 major console titles this year and sees the same number released in FY3/2015."

Now we're going to have to see which financial year Konami are planning on releasing The Phantom Pain. The prologue, Ground Zeroes, is said to have a two hour running time, and will launch this year on March 31.