It appears there has been some sort of nuclear fallout between the publisher and Kojima Productions over at Konami. According to Gamespot, Hideo Kojima is expected to leave Konami after the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Even worse, it appears that Kojima and other staff members of Kojima Productions are now only working at Konami under a contract basis and are no longer employees. The ramifications of this split are huge and could send shockwaves throughout the industry.
Basically, any future game in the Metal Gear franchise will happen outside of the purview of the franchise’s own creator, Hideo Kojima. Granted, Kojima sees Metal Gear Solid V as the last game in the franchise. The next game essentially closes the loop that was opened with the prequel installments surrounding the story of Big Boss, who was the villain of the original Metal Gear video games. In short, any spin-offs, remakes or reboots in the Metal Gear franchise will probably not have Kojima at the helm in any capacity.
This development could mean the end for Kojima Productions. Kojima Productions was a subsidiary of Konami, and I do see it continuing without Kojima. Unless, Kojima is allowed to buy out Kojima Productions and shop it out elsewhere. I am not even sure if such a thing would be possible. Basically Metal Gear Solid V could very well be the last hurrah for Kojima Productions.
The biggest question mark right now has to be around Silent Hills. Kojima was attached as one of the key developers for the Silent Hill franchise reboot, along with Kojima Prouctions. If Kojima Productions is gone, how can Silent Hills continue? Konami would probably have to shop the project out to a new developer to finish the work that has already been done, or start from scratch completely. Essentially, things do not look good right now for the future of Silent Hills.
Plenty of fans will be very emotional and rage out online and on social media over the news. It is difficult for me to get upset about this. Essentially, this is the nature of the business in action. Things might look rough now, but Konami and Hideo Kojima have built quite the legacy together and can proudly look back on their accomplishments. The Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid games were quite a feat for the industry. The games were groundbreaking and revolutionary. Ultimately, nothing lasts forever. Companies change. Key staff members come, make their marks and move on. Developers work on different projects. They forge and create new franchises. Company heads change. Sometimes they fail and sometimes they succeed. No matter what, the world continues to spin, and life moves on. The people affected the most and have it the worst are the people who could be out of a job as a result of the split.
In the end, It does not sound like the split will hurt the release of Metal Gear Solid V. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on September 1.
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