Push SquareThe rumours have been floating around for some time that the relationship between Konami and renowned video game director Hideo Kojima is pretty much dead, but now Kojima’s name has gone from the Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain’s box art, it’s pretty much official.
Oh Kojima, where did it all go so wrong? You were the chosen one.
While details of exactly what has driven this huge rift between Konami and Kojima are sketchy, the fallout is pretty plain for everyone to see. Starting with the cut and run approach to the eagerly anticipated Silent Hills, the retraction of PT from the Playstation Store and now this, it could be the most ugly breakup in gaming history.
A tweet last week from the voice actor of Solid Snake, Akio Otsuka, has seemingly double confirmed that Kojima will not be involved with any future Metal Gear games…
コジプロは解散させられてしまったが、チームの奮闘により作品はどうやらほぼ完成となった。掛け値なしに最高の傑作となった筈！早く「待たせたな」と言いたくて仕方ない(笑)これが最期になったとしとも…MGS は 不滅 です！
コジプ… http://t.co/9zeTNDpNxp— 大塚 明夫 (@AkioOtsuka) July 10, 2015
Here’s a translation into English. You’ll just have to trust us on this…
Kojima Productions got dissolved, and due to the team’s hard effort, the game is just about finished. This is no exaggeration, but it’s bound to be a supreme masterpiece! I can’t help it if I want to say ‘I kept you waiting’. (lol) Even if this is the last time…
While Kojima will undoubtedly have no say in future MGS games, he has stated that The Phantom Pain will be the end of his saga. Hopefully whatever he goes onto next will be equally as successful.
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.