In a post from Japanese site Nikkei today, they say Hideo Kojima officially left Konami as of today, December 15, and he is set to form his own company.
Translated by NeoGAF, the Nikkei article says Kojima will form a new video game development studio with other former Konami employees who worked under him.
Since the rights to Metal Gear Solid belong to Konami, he will work on an all-new game. As of right now, Kojima is reportedly in final talks with Sony to release this new title on PlayStation.
Previously, we heard that Kojima’s contract with Konami was set to expire this month. Also, according to Geoff Keighley, it was Konami who barred Kojima from appearing at The Game Awards to accept any awards Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain might win.
In his recent AMA, Keighley talked about the Kojima situation at The Game Awards:
“It just broke my heart that he couldn’t be with us – something had to be said. I didn’t tell anyone on the show team what I was going to say and it wasn’t rehearsed.”
“I wanted him to know that we were thinking of him. I was trying to do all I could to make him feel connected to the show, even if he couldn’t be with us physically in LA. Heartbreaking situation.”
“Yes he was watching it live in Tokyo with friends. He tweeted a bit during the show.”
When asked if The Phantom Pain was over, Keighley replied, “I don’t know. A few years ago Kojima drew me a little timeline on a scrap of napkin to explain The Phantom Pain’s timeline and how Ground Zeroes would fit into it at the beginning. But he never talked about the other side of the timeline…then he ripped up the paper :).”
We’ll let you know if Konami, Kojima, or Sony responds to any questions for comment about Nikkei’s report.
