Konami didn't expect that a simple "MGS5: Ground Zeroes" registration page disclaimer would catch fire.

But it did yesterday when a gamer screengrabbed the thank-you note from the website with the alleged "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain" release date, according to trustedreviews.com.

A page image posted in reddit by a fan showed his "Ground Zeroes" registration receipt came with an invitation to "come back early 2015 to claim your Downloadable Content."

Rumours points to a possible Phantom Pain tie-in DLC which will allow the players to use the rescued mercenaries in "Ground Zeroes" to be part of the "Phantom Pain" troops, videogamer.com reported.

Konami has kept mum on the official "Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain" release date but they admitted that it won't be anytime soon.

"As far as the game itself goes, The Phantom Pain will take place in an immense open world map, while Ground Zeroes takes place in a smaller open world," series creator, Hideo Kojima explained. "It would've actually been better to release it all at once, but by the way things are going, it appears likely that Phantom Pain will be coming out around the time the Playstation 4 becomes more spread out."

Kojima further elaborated the difference to the smaller Ground Zeroes MGS title, referring to The Phantom Pain as being "more than 200x bigger," which explains the longer game development period.

"The Phantom Pain has enormous volume, so it will require much more time. So, together with the marketing staff, we consulted 'what ifs' and such, and came to the decision of allowing fans to at least play the prologue ahead of time."

Meanwhile, MGS fans can unload their excitement for now on "Metal Gear 5: Ground Zeroes" as it launches this Friday, March 21 on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.