By 2014 the world has descended into chaos, locked in a perpetual "war economy" that keeps conflict burning endlessly. It is a system that thrives on private military companies — the five largest of which, together rivaling the entire United States Army, all answer to a single parent corporation, Outer Heaven, commanded by Liquid Ocelot. A fusion of Liquid Snake's consciousness and Revolver Ocelot's body, Liquid is once again bent on world domination. To stop him, Solid Snake — now called Old Snake, his body ravaged by rapid accelerated aging — is sent to assassinate Liquid Ocelot, as a personal favor to Roy Campbell.