GameblogAccording to reports on French gaming site Gameblog, verified by Eurogamer, Konami’s previous statements that it was actively seeking a new dev team for future Metal Gear games is no longer on the cards.
Now that the good ship Metal Gear has sailed into the great internet ocean, it looks like Konami are happy to only produce yearly iterations of Pro Evo until the end of time. With the releases, Konami are understood to have no triple-A ambitions, though it does have the licence for Euro 2016 – potential DLC for PES? Probably.
In an statement from May, Konami President Hideki Hayakawa said:
Our main platforms will be mobiles. Gaming has spread to a number of platforms, but at the end of the day, the platform that is always closest to us, is mobile. Mobile is where the future of gaming lies. With multiplatform games, there’s really no point in dividing the market into categories anymore. Mobiles will take on the new role of linking the general public to the gaming world.
GamespotKonami have had one shit-show of a year. Cancelling the hugely anticipated Silent Hills, publicly sacking veteran game director Hideo Kojima in mysterious circumstances, swiftly followed by accusations of shocking treatment of employees.
As a franchise, Konami has seen its popularity dwindle with console gamers for some years, and for it to pack up shop isn’t surprising, but it is disappointing to see the company plough headlong into mobile gaming having cut its teeth so successfully in the video game market.
While Konami are yet to officially comment on the claims, many will be quite happy to see the back of the fallen angel of the gaming industry.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.