UPDATE: This story was originally written last night and scheduled today. This morning, there was a confirmation video released by Hideo Kojima and Sony which confirmed the story and went into a little more detail.
Kojima is opening Kojima Productions as an independent games studio. His first game with the studio is a Sony exclusive project that will be the first in a planned franchise. Below is the confirmation video in which Sony’s Andrew House makes the announcement in conjunction with Kojima himself.
The Original Story: After a year filled with drama between well know game director Hideo Kojima and his now ex-employers Konami, drama that supposedly included incredibly harsh working conditions for staff working on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the two have parted ways.
Mr. Kojima‘s actual leaving date was likely many weeks ago, with some workers even reporting that there was a leaving party for him, though Konami has been insisting that he was just on holiday. An odd explanation given the drama that came before and after as Konami banned him from appearing at The Game Awards at the start of the month.
As suspected by many publications, on December 15 his non-compete clause has ended. He is officially no longer at Konami and free to work elsewhere in the industry. Details are scarce on what he will do next but what we do know is that he seems to be setting up his own standalone studio, with many members of what once was Kojima Productions joining him. Supposedly, he is also in talks with Sony Computer Entertainment about the debut of the new studio’s first game.
There are no details on what this could lead to, but it seems likely that the end result will be some kind of exclusive or timed exclusivity deal on PlayStation consoles. While whatever game they make is a long way off, I am excited to see what comes from the mind of the man who has been behind the Metal Gear Solid series for so long.
