Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes will introduce key gameplay elements that will be fully realized in The Phantom Pain, and it will act as a bridge between the events of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and The Phantom Pain, Tech2.com reports.

It will also serve as a bridge for gameplay elements, by featuring the progression from the earlier titles' linear level design to Phantom Pain's open world, the website also reports.

Developer Hideo Kojima revealed that Ground Zeroes, which will feature Big Boss infiltrating a prison camp, will take place in Cuba.

Ground Zeroes will be available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at retail for $29.99 or as a $19.99 download, Joystiq.com reports.

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will be available as $29.99 downloads.

"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 the website.

"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."

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.