Metal Gear Online/Expansions

The iteration of Metal Gear Online that launched with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots featured three Expansions during its lifetime. The expansions were named after the major themes of the three previous numbered Metal Gear Solid titles. The expansions were released on their own, but could also be purchased in bundles through the Metal Gear Online Shop. The expansions added new functions, characters and maps.

Gene Expansion
The first expansion pack for Metal Gear Online, titled "Gene Expansion", was officially announced at Metal Gear Online 's homepage and was released on July 17, 2008 at a cost of $11.99 US or $14.99 US with an additional character slot. The Gene Expansion featured three new maps, titled Coppertown Conflict, Tomb of Tubes, and Virtuous Vista; two new playable characters (Meryl and Johnny), each with their own special abilities; a new game mode called "Survival"; and a new reward system. The reward system awarded players points for playing the new game mode. The points could be exchanged for items to customize characters in the new Reward Shop. The expansion also introduced female characters to the character creation system. Two new skills were added: "Box Move", which allows the character to move faster while hiding in a box, and "Quick Recovery", which increases the speed at which the character can help teammates recover from being knocked out, as well as decreasing the time it takes to wake themselves up.

The Gene Expansion took its name from the theme of Metal Gear Solid.

Meme Expansion
The second expansion pack for Metal Gear Online, titled "Meme Expansion", was announced on Metal Gear Online 's homepage and released on November 25, 2008. The expansion required the user to have purchase the previous Gene Expansion. It was £6.49 for British users and included two new characters (Liquid Ocelot and Mei Ling) each with their own special abilities. There were also three new maps, titled Silo Sunset, Winter Warehouse and Forest Firefight whcih were added to the Survival mode, a new game mode called Stealth Deathmatch, and new items such as the Crocodile Cap, an Afro wig, and the top and bottom portions of the Ghillie Suit. The user interface received an update and the Rosemary lobby was replaced with the Meryl lobby.

The Meme Expansion took its name from the theme of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Scene Expansion
The third and final expansion pack for Metal Gear Online, titled "Scene Expansion", was announced on playstation.blog and was released on March 17 2009, with pre-order being available from March 10. It featured two new characters (Raiden and Vamp), each with their own special abilities, three new maps, titled Outer Outlet, Hazard House, and Ravaged Riverfront, and new items such as various wigs, a mask made in the likeness of Robbie from the Silent Hill series, a Hockey Mask, Haven Trooper armor, bikinis, topless males, and some Eastern European-style equipment (e.g., a hunting cap, a leather coat, and leather gloves).

As of June 16 2009, players who purchased the Scene Expansion had access to the map Icebound Inferno and the ability to use Old Snake outside of sneaking matches. Icebound Inferno was taken from the Communication Towers area of Shadow Moses.

The Scene Expansion took its name from the theme of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.