In a surprise, major announcement during their Pre-E3 press conference today, video game makers Konami confirmed the rumors that long time voice actor (and noted screenwriter) David Hayter would be out for the 5th game installment, despite voicing Snake since 1998’s Metal Gear Solid.

That said, I don’t think anyone expected this replacement - 24 actor and all around bad-ass, Kiefer Sutherland.

Sutherland was chosen by Metal Gear producer Hideo Kojima to voice the somewhat older version of Snake that stars in the game, made up of two key parts, Ground Zeroes, an open world stealth adventure, and the psychological horror The Phantom Pain.  Sutherland will not just be providing voice acting, but also serving as a motion capture reference for the character, as seen in the reveal interview below.

While I’m personally saddened to see Hayter leave the series, I think Sutherland is a bold, but appropriate choice to star as the latest incarnation of one of gaming’s icons.  Here’s hoping he keeps his run of “Damnit!"’s going.

Metal Gear Solid V is set for a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 release.

EDIT: As cleared up to me by Phil Kahn - Sutherland is taking the reigns of Big Boss, lead of Metal Gear Solid 3 here, so perhaps we can still see Hayter as Solid Snake? Time will tell.