In contrast with previous Metal Gear Solid games, Ground Zeroes will feature a massive open world for players to interact with, with no loading screens to separate areas of the map (all loading will be done in the background, except when travelling via helicopter to different missions and countries). Players can use a flare to call in athehelicopter at any time to travel to different missions and countries.
Ground Zeroes will feature a true, real-time day and night cycle. Things will change in the world over the course of the day, including troop movements. Travel time from one part of the world to another will also be reflected in the day and night cycle.
There will also be a base-building feature that allows player to develop weapons and items from their virtual motherbase. This will consist of a home base in the open world that can be fortified and managed. Players will also be able to manage their bases from smartphones.
Ground Zeroes has a twist to the stealth genre, namely that even if caught, the player can use all the resources at their disposal to escape rather than automatically getting a game over screen.