Kojima to leave Konami amid internal power struggle, report claims

The release of Metal Gear Solid 5 could bring about the departure of series creator Hideo Kojima from publisher Konami.

GameSpot reports that a fallout” between Kojima Productions and its mother company has led to senior staff having their access to services such as internal email, phone and internet restricted.

Plus Kojima and his team are being largely frozen out of the game’s pre-release hype campaign. All of which seems likely to drive many of the team’s senior members to walk way once the next Metal Gear Solid game ships.

Backing up the claims is the fact that the Kojima Productions logo has been removed from official Metal Gear art and the Metal Gear website, while references to the studio have been pulled from some of Konami’s corporate information points.

"As we have already announced, we are shifting our production structure to a headquarters-controlled system, in order to establish a steadfast operating base capable of responding to the rapid market changes that surround our digital entertainment business,” Konami said.

Konami Digital Entertainment (including Mr. Kojima), will continue to develop and support Metal Gear products. Please look forward to future announcements."

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be released on an assortment of formats on September 1st.