Hideo Kojima’s contribution to the Metal Gear franchise is almost legendary, but as they say all good things must eventually come to an end. According recent rumors, word on the street has it that Kojima is said to be leaving Konami. This came about after it was discovered that branding for Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions had been removed from the Metal Gear Solid website.It has also been discovered that Kojima Productions Los Angeles had been renamed to Konami Los Angeles Studio. In fact Kojima’s leaving was hinted by the man himself in a tweet which said, “Heading off.” It was unclear as to what he meant at that time, but given the situation now, it certainly sounds like he was saying his goodbyes.
However in a statement issued by a Konami spokesperson, “Konami Digital Entertainment, including Mr. Kojima, will continue to develop and support Metal Gear products. Please look forward to future announcements.” They also issued another statement saying, “As we have already announced, we are shifting our production structure to a headquarters-controlled system, in order to establish a steadfast operating base capable of responding to the rapid market changes that surround our digital entertainment business.”
It has been rumored that there was a power struggle between Kojima Productions and Konami and that once Kojima Productions’ contract with Konami expires, the studio is expected to disband. Kojima had hinted that Metal Gear Solid 5 could be his last game, at least as far as the Metal Gear Solid franchise is concerned. We doubt Konami would be killing off the franchise but future titles are not expected to be made with Kojima. Take it with a grain of salt for now, but hopefully we will have an official conclusion to this drama soon.
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