Let's travel all the way back to the early days of the PlayStation 2. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, Hideo Kojima was a titan in the gaming industry already. He'd already released multiple Metal Gear games and spearheaded development on one of the most iconic games ever in Metal Gear Solid. Thus, the sequel, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, had a lot to live up to, and for the most part, the development had gone well ahead. However, a catastrophic real-world event would throw a monkey wrench into Konami's plans and put Kojima's career at Konami on the brink.
Kojima got candid about the time he almost quit his post at Konami at the turn of the century in an interview with Weekly Tokyo Keizai.
As spotted by @MGSMGN on Twitter, the September 11 terrorist attacks shocked the entire world and almost took down an all-time career with it.
As the world grappled with the aftermath of the attacks, the team behind Metal Gear Solid 2 was in a precarious position due to its uncomfortably prescient themes and scenes, one of which depicted a massive military fortress, Arsenal Gear, heading full speed into New York and crashing into Manhattan.
Kojima recalled the experience, saying that the horrifying incident had made Metal Gear Solid 2 "unfit for release at the time.