Metal Slug Ultimate Collection is heading to Xbox with 10 titles from across the run-and-gun series, and its most unusual inclusion is a location-test build that never received an official release. Xbox Wire’s announcement says the old test version will be playable on a home console for the first time.
A 10-title collection built around series history
Metal Slug first arrived in arcades in 1996, making 2026 its 30th anniversary. The collection pulls together 10 selected entries from the series’ arcade, home-console, and handheld history. Xbox’s store description also calls the games faithful ports of their original releases.
The location-test build sets this package apart from a standard compilation. It was used for public testing in arcades while it was still in development, but it was never officially released. That makes its home-console debut a significant archival addition, rather than simply another released entry returning in a bundle.
Rewind, quick saves, and adjustable settings
The collection adds several ways to alter how a session works. Players can adjust the button layout, rapid-fire speed, difficulty, and time settings. The support options extend to infinite weapon ammunition, mission selection, rewind, and quick save and load functions.
Those tools cover different needs. Rewind and quick saving can soften the cost of a mistake, while mission selection can reduce the need to replay earlier stages. Rapid-fire and button-layout controls provide more ways to configure inputs. The announcement presents these as additions around the original games rather than replacements for them.
Combat School and archive extras are also included
Combat School Mode returns with instructor conversations that change in response to mission performance. The package also includes score and clear-time rankings, a replay feature, a visual gallery, and a sound player.
There is an important limit on that feature list: the available features and modes vary by title. The announcement does not say that every one of the 10 entries will offer every listed option, so the package should not be read as having a uniform feature set across its whole lineup.
Metal Slug Ultimate Collection is available to wishlist on the Xbox Store. For now, the confirmed picture is a 10-title Xbox collection that pairs ports from several parts of the series’ history with modern play assists, performance-driven Combat School conversations, ranking and replay tools, and access to the never-officially-released location-test version.
