The situation between Konami and Hideo Kojima has been going for a while, but now that relationship appears to be coming to an end. According to the voice actor who plays Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series, Kojima Productions no longer exists as a development studio.
Akio Otsuka claimed on Twitter that the development team will part ways after completing Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
"Kojima Productions was forced to disband, but it appears that the work that the team has been putting their utmost effort into is nearly complete," Otsuka wrote (via Gematsu).
After dropping the news, Akio then went on to big up Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which he claimswill be the team's greatest work.
"I'm not exaggerating when I say that I expect it will become their greatest masterpiece. I couldn't help it. I just wanted to say, 'Kept you waiting, huh?' But even if this is the end, Metal Gear Solidis immortal!"
We can't say were too surprised about the closure, considering what's happened over the past few months. Rumours initially kicked off when forum users noticed that Kojima is no longer listed as an executive on Konami's corporate page.
Then we heard fromin March that Kojima Productions had fallen out with Konami, resulting in senior staff being given restricted access to corporate files. At the time, a source at the studio explained that, once the Phantom Pain's development was complete, management at the studio would likely disband and Kojima would leave. And looks what's happened now.
It's also thought that Silent Hills – which was set to be co-directed by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro, was cancelled for the same reasons. Del Toro later explained what the Silent Hills could have been, after a petition to get the project back on track garnered over 60,00 signatures.
With the two parting ways, Konami will now pursue mobile games going forward, and focus on smartphones as its “main platform”.
