Japanese news site Nikkei is reporting that the breakup between Hideo Kojima and Konami may at last be finalized, as the site claims Kojima has started a new production company. The site also states Kojima is in talks with Sony about a partnership.
The brief news item makes no mention of what the new production company will be, but it’s probable that his old company will either be renamed by Konami (leaving it as “Kojima Productions” would be more than a little embarrassing) or dissolved. It remains to be seen whether the employees would follow Kojima to his new studio. Konami had already closed the studio’s LA division.
There were rumors back in March of this year that there was a major rift between Konami and Kojima. The entire ugly divorce became public when press and gamers noticed Kojima’s name had been removed from Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Then, in October, reports stated Kojima had been fired by Konami, but a day later, Konami refuted those claims, stating his farewell party was actually a wrap party, and that Kojima was merely on hiatus. Those words sounded hollow when Konami barred Kojima from even accepting awards for the game.
Fans and other figures in the industry had negative reactions ranging from incredulity to outrage. The fact that there is an industry buzz that Konami wants to leave console and PC development for the mobile game market doesn’t help matters.
Stay tuned.
