Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes will be released as a standalone prologue to Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain in Spring 2014, according to Joystiq.com.

Konami UK told the website the packaged current generation versions will be sold at £30, while downloadable versions are priced £20 on current-generation systems, and £30 on Xbox One and PS4.

It is speculated that the game will cost less than $60 in North America.

"The advanced capabilities of the FOX Engine have allowed me to tell the new story in a new way. There will be a significant difference in what Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain brings to the series, so we want to ease players into the new open world environment and its potential," creator Hideo Kojima told Joystiq.com.

"As such, Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes has been designed to introduce key elements, allowing them to fully benefit from all that the new game will offer."

A gameplay demo of The Phantom Pain was released earlier this season, but an official release date for the game has not been reported.

Hideo Kojima addressed Open World features in Metal Gear Solid 5, discussing misconceptions related to the game.

"With MGS up to now, we could only build the interior of wherever you were infiltrating. How you got there was shown in a cut-scene, and the player would just suddenly be in front of the entrance. Once you finished the mission, there'd be another cut-scene, a helicopter or whatever would come by, and you'd escape," he told Japanese gaming media site Famitsu.

"I think the term 'open world' has taken on a life of its own and caused misunderstandings. Of course it's not going to be a game where Snake fishes all day or changes jobs and pursues a different life. The game map is an open world and you have freedom in that way, but in MGS5, it's clear what you're doing. That may be 'I have to help someone' or 'Destroy this thing' or 'Go gather intelligence at this spot'. Some missions will have time limits, too."