Earlier today an article from The New Yorker reported Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima’s official leave from Konami. However, in statement given to Tokyo Sports a Konami representative states otherwise.
As translated by Kotaku’s Brian Ashcraft, the representative states that “Currently, Kojima is listed as a company employee [at Konami].”
Currently, Kojima and the development team are finished developing Metal Gear Solid V and are taking a long time off from work.
No confirmation was given on the length of this supposed “vacation”. The unnamed representative added, “Because the development time for console games is so long and fatigue builds up, it’s common for employees to take extended periods of time off when development is finished.”
If sources close to Kotaku are correct then Kojima’s current contract with Konami will expire in December, which could effectively mean the end of this purported “vacation” and technically the official end of Kojima’s employment. Simon Parkin, author of the original New Yorker article, also reported that Kojima was under a non-compete agreement with Konami but so far no news has broken on it’s validity.
When asked about the reported farewell party the representative stated “We’re not sure what kind of thing this was.” In response, Parkin tweeted out a photo of the farewell party at Kojima Productions, saying the photo came from a source at Konami.
To add more twists to the story, in response to a fan’s comment, Parkin states his belief that lead artist and longtime Kojima collaborator, Yoji Shinkawa, is also leaving the company.
This story will be updated as more details come in.