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fleg wrote in to alert us that a Russian man volunteered to be the first complete head transplant subject to be performed by Dr. Sergio Canavero, of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group (TANG) in Italy. There are many articles reporting this news. We've even previously covered the plans. However, now there are also at least a couple of articles that report the procedure is an elaborate publicity stunt for the impending release of Metal Gear Solid 5.

The businessinsider.com article seems to best line out the many clues and linkings that this may be the case, not the least of which seems to be that the image of Dr. Canavero is used as the neurosurgeon in the game. Also possibly telling, the article states:

Hideo Kojima, who heads up the “Metal Gear Solid” franchise, tweeted about his next project in 2010: “The next project will challenge a certain type of taboo. If I mess up, I’ll probably have to leave the industry. However, I don’t want to pass by avoiding that. I turn 47 this year. It’s been 24 years since I started making games. Today, I got an ally who would happily support me in that risk. Although it’s just one person. For a start, it’s good.” This makes it sound like Kojima was able to persuade Dr. Canavero to join his venture — to help leverage his authority as a famous doctor and neurosurgeon to promote "Metal Gear Solid 5" with a viral marketing stunt.

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However, things aren't completely cut and dried. Independent.co.uk states that "It’s unlikely that Canavero’s story is fake — he has published over 100 papers and carried out genuine medical procedures, as blog Kotaku noted in a post detailing the claims — but has brought extra attention to Canavero’s claims."

More info on the possible procedure from the iflscience.com article :

It started in 2013, when Sergio Canavero of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group proposed the idea of using surgery to extend the lives of people with degenerated muscles and nerves or cancer-permeated organs, New Scientist reports. Canavero summarized the 36-hour procedure he plans to follow in Surgical Neurology International in February of this year. He also plans to launch the project at the annual American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting in Maryland this June. He’ll need a staff of 150 doctors and nurses.