Game Informer broke the news on Saturday based on their discussion with Konami during a preview event that took place sometime prior to the beta going live last week. Per the developer, the persistent online connection is to ensure "a seamless integration between single player and co-op" and "provide ongoing content post-launch." As for the real money purchase side of things, players will be able to buy an in-game currency that can be spent on a variety of boosts that will increase the drop rate for a variety of currencies and provide other bonuses. It's worth noting that the in-game currency used to acquire these boosts can be acquired by playing as well.

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The beta will focus on the co-op mode of the game and include three different missions across two maps, but you can play those missions with up to three other people. It seems that this will be limited to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One only (sorry PC players), and an Internet connection will be required. It's interesting, though, that the news post announcing the beta only mentions an Xbox Live Gold subscription being needed in order to play the game online on the Xbox One, nothing about a PS+ subscription on the PlayStation 4. Possibly that means that folks on the PlayStation 4 can enjoy the beta regardless and only need a PSN account. Participating in the beta will net you a few bonus goodies, including a Metal Gear Rex head, that will be available in the full game when it comes out in February.

When the title was first announced during TGS last year, one of the features that was touted was the four player online co-op. At the time, it appeared that that would be a core part of the campaign. However, the website shed some rather disappointing light on that particular feature. The campaign will be single-player only and co-op will be a separate thing. Rewards and progression will be shared between both modes, though, but as stated above, even if you're playing solo, you'll need to be connected to the Internet.

Aside from the setting, details about the title are sparse for now. The brief press release Konami released stated that the game will feature four player co-op and "survival done the Metal Gear way." From the video, we get a glimpse at some of that in action as the four characters seem to be scavenging from the remains of the former Mother Base, which was also sucked through the wormhole, and using a weird bow/arrow not previously seen in any other Metal Gear game. The last little bit of the video also hints that the biggest threat in that other place may not be the zombie creatures...